Keeping the Secret
by TCGeek
Summary: My very first FF : Three years after GUILT has been eradicated, Derek finds himself keeping a BIG secret from the one he loves. She’ll find out eventually – but how? DerekxAngie Complete with bonus!
1. Chapter 1

Hello, all TC lovers! This is my very first FF, and I hope that you enjoy it.

See, I am mildly obsessed with Derek and Angie, and am very excited to take a stab at writing about them. I'm more focused on the general story line, because I really am not a writer... so please forgive me for any of them acting out of character, or any plot holes you come across. Be nice :) i tried to get them all to act as they would straight out of the game, and I'm happy with how its turning out so far... leave me any feedback you want, like i said... take it easy on me!

This has been so much fun to write so far... I'm going to stop blabbing. Hope you love it!

**If you don't mind, read the bottom note before going on to the next Chapter... it'll be fun, I promise :)**

* * *

**Chapter 1 - **

For one to say that the night shift was not the most popular shift at Caduceus, would be a big understatement. Few employees actually requested the night shift, using the peace and quiet to get away from their hectic days chasing after their children, running errands, and other stressful activities. But for the others, the only things that appealed about the shift were a lot of talk time with colleagues and coworkers who were now close friends, and every once in awhile, a nap on their desks in between stacks of paperwork. For Derek Stiles, nap time almost always ended up with his nurse, Angie, waking him up in very mean ways. She would have a lot of chances to do so as well, because this week was the not only the week that Derek was stuck on the night shift, but also the week that the coffee machine in the lounge was broken. Angie had been bringing Derek cups of coffee from home, but without a constant supply through the night, he would easily let his boredom get the better of him. To make matters worse for the young surgeon, his nurse and her friend and fellow nurse Leslie Sears were leaving on a short trip to a convention the next day, leaving Tyler and Derek behind, so Tyler was coming in every night to assist Derek.

"Assist? More like screw around.." Angie thought to herself as she walked down the hallway.

Just finishing up her rounds, she headed back towards her and Derek's office, thinking of all the work that would go unfinished with Derek and Tyler as a team for the remainder of the week. A small giggle escaped her lips, followed quickly by a pout, as she realized that the nurse's convention that she and Leslie were attending would mean no Derek for three days. She stopped for a second in the hallway before their office, reassuring herself that it was only three days – three days until she could come back and see him as much as she wanted. In four years of knowing each other, they had only been away from one another a handful of times… and neither of them had taken it very well. She remembered how many text messages she had sent to Derek while he and a few other surgeons had attended one of Caduceus's seminars in Japan. She laughed out loud to herself remembering Derek telling her the story about how he had to pull on Tyler's hair in order to get his phone back from his friend's grasps… but not before Tyler read every single message from lovesick Angie back home; ripping on Derek every chance he got for the rest of the trip. A faint blush swept over her face as she snapped out of her hallway daydream, hearing a soft thump from Derek's office.

"He may actually be doing something productive!" she said quietly to herself, laughing afterward at how absurd that comment sounded out loud.

Holding onto the doorframe, she spun into the room where her doctor was _(hopefully)_ doing his paperwork.

"Hiiiiiiii, Der---" she stopped short, realizing that the thump she had heard was not paperwork getting done… but rather, Derek knocking over his empty coffee mug in his sleep.

A huge grin came over Angie's face as she removed the cap from her Sharpie and quietly snuck over to Derek's desk, setting their patients' charts down on the corner of it. "I hope you're going to like looking like a cute little kitty cat!" she whispered, trying not to laugh and wake him. Just as the pen was about to touch his face, she recoiled.

She had a quick mental image of Derek in the bathroom, growling at her while trying to scrub off the permanent marker before he had to go talk to their patients. Although the hilariousness of the image had pushed her towards doing it anyway, she decided that she wanted to spend time with him tonight… not get him angry at her.

"I couldn't do that to him... not when I'm about to leave"

A small smile made its way onto her face as she watched him sleep. His messy brown hair fell all around his face, constantly being propelled outward at every breath he let go. She decided that while she didn't really want to, she was going to wake him up. After all, she was leaving tomorrow, and felt it was her right to do so.

She brushed his hair behind his left ear, got on her knees next to his chair, and softly whispered his name while gently stroking his face. He slowly opened his brown eyes to the sight of his beautiful nurse smiling at him, her hand still softly settled on his cheek. Her bright green eyes widened happily as she watched him awaken from his nap, and then turned concerned as she watched him shoot into an upright position.

He paused for a minute, looking around, and then bowed his head slightly as he asked, "There are cat whiskers on my face, aren't there, Angie?"

She laughed. "Almost, but not tonight, Derek"

He checked his pants before trying to slowly stand up, in remembrance of the time she had stapled his pants to his chair. "Did you staple me again, then?"

"No, Derek." She sighed softly, standing up to help him to his feet. "That only happened because I was mad at you, remember?"

"Yeah.. heh. I really deserved that one" he admitted, rubbing the back of his head and smiling.

"Come over here" she said, taking his hand. "We don't have to do rounds for another hour, and since you've been so good, I can help you finish up your paperwork another time"

He followed her confused at first, but then grinned when he saw her leading him to the couch. She shoved him down onto his back, and then laid on her side next to him, hugging around his stomach. He smiled and rested his head on hers, closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry I've been so tired lately, Ang" he said quietly. "I haven't been getting much sleep..."

Concerned, she propped herself up onto her elbow, cocking her head upward to look at him. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just have had stuff on my mind… that's all. Nothing to worry about; forget I even mentioned it" He smiled faintly, pulling her back down into cuddling position.

"Seriously, please tell me?"

"Angie, really.. I'm perfectly fine. Just sleepy, that's all. Forget I ever mentioned it"

"Derek" she retorted with a stern tone, sitting up once again. "You're not going to get away with this. I mean, seriously… After this long together, you know I'm not giving up until you tell me… because I know you're lying. You must think I'm an idiot! You don't know me at all, do you?! I bet you can't even tell me how long we've been together!" He was taken aback from this sudden, very random outburst, trying to take in every word she said… which, well… was a lot of words in a very short time.

She sat up, turning her back to him in a huff.

"Its going to be three years on the 21st" he said, sliding into an upright position. "I can't believe you would think I would ever forget something so important." he said, smiling. "You should also know **me** well enough to know that I tell you everything"

She turned around, glaring angrily at him. He was exactly right, and she hated to admit it. They had been together for almost three years, but she still was angry at him: she didn't trust him, and it showed in her angry stare. It was when she looked at him like that, that he froze and began to trip all over his words… especially now, because she was exactly right: this was the first time he had ever lied to her. But he couldn't tell her what was really keeping him up. Anything else, but not this secret. So he forced a smile, and took her hand.

"When have I ever lied to you?" he said, mentally wanting to kick his own ass for lying straight to the woman he loved. "Ang. I.. I promise."

Angie looked down for a moment, thinking to herself. He was right. He had never misled her… he cared about her feelings, and would never intentionally hurt her. So why did this time feel different? As she thought, she could feel him softly staring at her, waiting for a reply. Pausing for another second, she picked up her head to look him in the face, his expression soft yet serious.

"Come on, Dr. Stiles. We can't waste our nap time" she said, a grin creeping across her face. He smiled as well, pulling her back down into a cuddle.

That night, Derek Stiles napped with the world in his arms.

-------------------------------------------------------

**WHACK!!!**

"What in the HELL?… OUCH!!"

Derek awoke groggily, furiously rubbing at the side of his head. He quickly noticed Tyler standing a few feet away, giant book in hand, hunched over with one of his hands bracing himself on Derek's desk. Howling with laughter, he tried poking more fun at Derek in between breaths, but did so unsuccessfully. "Oh man… you sho--.. HAHAHA! You should've--- HAAA!!! YOUR FACE!!!!! HAHAHAHA"

In the hallway, a familiar R&D doctor passed the two, shaking his head. "_Idiots_.." he grumbled before moving on.

"Why in the hell would you do that dude? You know I'm going to kick the crap out of you when I can see straight" Derek said, laying back down. "Ugggh….And, where did Angie go? Is she doing rounds?"

"Dude, are you kidding? I didn't hit you that hard.. you must just be retarded!"

Derek stared at him blankly.

"…Remember, Angie and Leslie? The conference? Where have you been, man, seriously?"

"Oh, that's right…" Derek replied, slightly dejected. He had missed Angie so much since she left for the stupid conference three days ago. Every time he woke up, he kept thinking that she was with him, only to realize that his night shift companion was indeed blonde, but not of the right gender.

He watched as Tyler sat down at his desk, propping his feet up on it. "If you ask me," Tyler started, grinning, "they're probably just going to this "conference" so they can get away from the two of us. They're probably shopping or something else that girls do when their boyfriends aren't around. Besides, they complain that all we ever do is act like 5 year olds, anyway"

Derek laughed out loud. He thought back to last week when he had pranked Tyler over the headset in the guise of Angie, yelling "_Helpppp, Dr. Chase! Its Derek, he's really hurt! Come to our office! HURRY_!". The blond surgeon had come flying down the stairs, around the corner and yanked on the handle to his office, opening it to see Derek laughing like a little kid in his office chair, with a very annoyed Angie muttering "You two need to grow up.." from her own desk

"Very funny Stiles…" he had said, turning around to leave, but he quickly noticed that his hand was stuck to the door handle. His confusion came to an abrupt end when a camera flash blinded him, followed by a loud thud as Derek dropped to the floor, laughing hysterically.

Derek chuckled again, returning from his flashback. "Yeah, we are pretty immature… but you deserved it"

Tyler growled, "I deserved it?! I still have super glue on my hand, dude! Not funny!"

Leaning back on the couch, Derek smiled before his face hardened; his gaze dropping to the ground.

"Dude, I didn't mean to make you upset.. is everything okay?" Tyler asked, coming to sit next to him.

Derek was silent, but decided to get it off his chest.

"I feel awful, Tyler.." he started. "I lied to Angie really bad the other day, for the first time in our relationship. She's worried about me, and, I lied to her so that she wouldn't keep bugging me about it. If she wanted to know anything else, really… I.. I would tell her, but not this… I mean, I can't tell her… not this time… I really can't."

Tyler watched as Derek started to mildly panic, confused at what the big deal was.

"Can't tell her what, man? You really gotta catch me up here"

Derek grimaced.

"Okay. I'll tell you. But seriously, all pranks and everything aside, you cannot tell Leslie. You cannot tell Cybil. You cannot tell anyone who knows either Angie or I, because this can't get back to her. She can't know."

"Dude, you're kind of starting to worry me" Tyler said, his face lined with concern. It was a big change from his happy-go-lucky smile, but it made Derek know that he could trust him.

"Its, a pretty big deal, Tyler. She just, can't know. Promise me."

"I promise"

Derek rose to his feet, pacing slowly over to his desk. Sitting down in his chair, he briefly scratched the back of his head, letting out a deep breath. He reached down and opened the bottom drawer, moving papers, office supplies, and other entities out of the way until he unveiled an unmarked cardboard box at the back. He carried it over to the couch, sat down, and started to open it slowly. A few layers of bubblewrap and tissue paper later, he pulled out his big secret.

"No way man. No way. What is– No way…"

---------------------------------------------

OKAY! Here comes the fun! My first chapter completed! Woohoo for me!

Chapter one and chapter two are both up, but I split them for a reason -- they used to be one whole long thing...

I'm curious to see what you all think.

Post me a comment before going on -- what do you think Derek is hiding?


	2. Chapter 2

**Continuing on -- let's find out about this secret, shall we:)  
**

-------------------------------------------

"Tyler!" Derek snapped "Can you please contribute something besides, 'No way'?"

"Well" Tyler said, pausing momentarily. "It's a good thing you lied to her, man…"

"No kidding" Derek replied quietly.

"C-Can, I.. open, it?"

"Go for it. I need to know your honest opinion, and you can't do that unless you see it"

Tyler and Derek exchanged glances momentarily before he turned his attention back to the box which held Derek's big secret. Slowly, he opened it, revealing its contents.

"No wa –"

"DUDE!"

"Sorry… I forgot. Its just… wow."

Tyler slowly removed the contents of the box, being as careful as Derek had ever seen.

"You know, its okay, right? Be careful with it, of course, but you don't have to hold it like it's a bomb"

Tyler scoffed at the remark "I just.. I've never held one of these before, dude... I can't believe what it looks like up close." He said, examining it from every angle. "Who did you have to kill to get this?"

"Very funny -- I didn't kill anyone. I got it at this place off Third.." Derek replied slowly, getting more and more nervous about what Tyler really thought of the big secret that he held in his hands. "Its pretty hidden, I had never even heard of it, but I was referred there by someone who knows a whole lot about getting these kinds of things… because I definitely don't."

Tyler exhaled. "Yeah, me either. Kinda makes me wish that I was able to do something like this… I like the exhilaration of keeping a secret. And this… its just. Its amazing, Derek."

Derek smiled "So, you like it?"

Tyler grinned, breaking the suspense. "Yeah, I think its awesome. What… I don't know how to ask.. I guess, what, kind is it?" he asked uncertainly.

Derek stopped. "Let me see if I can remember this correctly…"

He looked up at the ceiling, as if it was written directly above his head. "I didn't really care when I bought it, but for information's sake… It's a two and a half carat platinum princess cut engagement ring in a brilliant round cut eternity band setting... I think. Does that sound right to you?" He said, a tad short of breath at the end.

"I couldn't know less about these things if I tried… sounds good to me though" Tyler replied, his eyes still fixated on the sparkling diamond. "How the hell did you know to buy that?"

"I honestly didn't know that when I picked it out… all I knew was that when I saw that one, I knew that was it. I bought that immediately once I found it, but I still spent hours there trying to find the perfect one. Man… it was ridiculous. Good luck when its your turn." he joked, chuckling slightly.

"I can't believe it… you're, GETTING MARRIED, DUDE!" Tyler yelled excitedly, bouncing in his seat.

"SHUT UP" hissed Derek. "See? This is why I don't tell you things. You NEED to keep this quiet…" he paused. "Do you think she'll like it?"

"I think its awesome, dude. She'll love it, no doubt… I'm so happy for you guys!" he slapped him a high five, pulling him into a quick hug. Tyler closed the box, and wrapped the contents back up into their respectful places, handing the bigger box back to Derek. "When are you gonna ask her?" he asked, rising from the couch.

"Well, it'll be three years on the 21st—"

"The 21st! Dude! That's like, 4 days away!"

"I know! I know!" Derek said defensively, cradling his forehead in his left hand. "What Angie doesn't know is that I requested the night shift for this week so that I could have some peace and quiet to think about how to ask her…" he paused, "but I've come up with absolutely nothing… its even got me losing sleep. I'm so nervous, Tyler." He sat back; his eyes glazing over as he began to reminisce.

"I remember that symposium thing that Cybil and I went to… you know, when I was speaking about GUILT? I hate speaking in front of large crowds, I mean, I could barely hold it together. I fumble over every word I say when I'm nervous: anyone who didn't know me there would've just thought I had a speech impediment…" he trailed off, hanging his head.

Tyler nodded sympathetically, slightly giggling.

"But, I would rather do that again 6 times than have to do this… I mean, I want to ask her so badly, I want to marry her… But it needs to be absolutely perfect.

…And, I'm going to screw it up." He paused slightly, then turned his head toward Tyler. "Will you do it for me?" he said sadly, holding out the box towards his friend.

Tyler laughed out loud, smacking him on the back. "Derek… you can do it! Besides, popping the question isn't really the sort of thing you have a pinch hitter for, you know what I'm saying?"

"I know…" Derek started again. "Its just so… God! Look at me! I-I'm… f-freaking out already! And its g-getting worse, because she's kinda onto me! It would be a lot easier if I could just – "

"… throw her off track?" Tyler interrupted.

Derek nodded. "Exactly" He let out a large sigh, setting the box down next to him on the couch. The worried look was immediately replaced with confusion, as he asked "How is it that I can do a million things at once while I'm operating, but I can't figure out how to ask my girlfriend to be my wife?"

Tyler shook his head, unable to give an answer.

"Do you think she knows what's up, or is it just that she knows something's wrong with you?"

"I really don't think that she believed me when I told her that nothing's wrong. I'm a bad liar though, so it doesn't surprise me… we talked about marriage like, wow.. maybe a year and a half ago, nothing really too deep though. We've always been kinda happy just, being together… but I decided that I want our 'being together' to mean something more… To be honest, I don't even know. I hope that she just thinks I'm stressed out or something, you know?"

Tyler grinned. "Well, just let me know how I can help, or something, dude… But don't worry. I'm sure she has no clue… especially if you haven't been actively talking about it. Just think about how you feel, and you'll figure out what to say". He reached out and pounded Derek's fist before turning around to leave. "I'm going to go start rounds… catch ya later!"

"Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

Derek reached into his pocket, grabbing his vibrating cell phone. A picture of Angie in a black dress with curly hair popped up onto the front screen as it buzzed away. He almost always forgot to answer her when she called because he was too busy smiling at that picture… He loved her with curly hair, mostly because she said it 'took too much work' to make it that way, and therefore, she never ended up doing it. "Here I go again!" he thought, flipping open his phone in a frenzy, as the last ring almost completed itself.

"Hey, you" he said softly, grinning from ear to ear.

Tyler Chase shook his head and smiled as he walked out of Derek's office. Once out of sight, he quickly took his cell phone out of his pocket, and called his one and only, nurse Leslie Sears. It rang twice before she picked up, cheery as ever. "Hey, Ty!" came the voice from the other end.

"Hey Leslie! Listen to me for a sec -- are you anywhere around Angie?"

"No," she replied "I'm on my way back to our room though… we were at different parts of the conference today… why?"

Tyler grinned "Have I got news for you…"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 –

**Gah.** I am having so much fun with this story! I hope you all are enjoying it as well… Tyler is a big jerk. Plain and simple.

And with that, I hang you in suspense to see what happens on Tyler's phone call. Its FLASHBACK TIME! This is the story of how Derek and Angie came to be. Aww!**  
**

* * *

_It had been some time since GUILT first reared its ugly head. Days before the one year anniversary of the successful treatment of Linda Reid's Kyriaki, Dr. Stiles found himself battling death incarnate to save someone very dear to him._

"The chiral reaction is negative. You may finish the operation, Doctor".

Nurse Angie Thompson spoke with a very relieved tone. With the combined Healing Touches of Dr. Derek Stiles and Dr. Nozomi Weaver, Robert Hoffman would live another day as the Executive Director of Caduceus. He had come within an inch of death, and although Derek had just about seen it all in his short career, seeing his friend and mentor lying there, helpless, was enough to shake him to his core. Following Angie's announcement, nobody in the operating room said a word. The severity of the completed task had drained them all from any energy they had… talking was simply too much work. Applying the bandage to the director's chest, Derek let out a big breath, and looked up at Angie, who was still watching his every move. They stared intensely at one another, still mindful of the tasks they were in the middle of. Derek smiled at his nurse, which she warmly returned, before leaving the table to go clean up herself and the equipment. He followed closely behind her, his head spinning with thoughts.

Almost losing someone this dear to you makes you realize how much the people in your life deserve to know how you feel about them. Hell, it wasn't even Hoffman's surgery that made Derek think about this… he was just too damn afraid to ever mention it to her. She had never left his side during the whole GUILT ordeal. She was his source of strength and knowledge, and he knew that without her, he would've never grown to be the surgeon… no-- person, he was today. He had been falling in love with her over the past few months, but made sure to hide it at any cost. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she cared about him, but he had a feeling that it wasn't in the way he had hoped. His love was a secret… one that she would probably never know.

Hanging his head slightly, he walked into the prep room, removing all his surgical garments and placing them in the proper bins. Angie watched him silently from the sink where she was washing the tools. She studied him as he peeled off layer by layer, his face never changing from its previous state of hardened determination. He looked absolutely exhausted. Unbeknownst to Derek, she continued to observe him, thinking of their time together. In her eyes, there wasn't a more attractive man in the world. She had used to think that he was a clumsy uncomfortable oaf, but watching him grow as a surgeon had changed her outlook completely. The more she watched his skillful hands save patient after patient, the more she found herself wishing that those hands were wrapped around her every day. Her heart still skipped a beat every time he smiled, and she had cried more than she ever had before the day she almost lost him to GUILT. They had certainly had their share of moments to confess to one another, but because of their fears of rejection, neither had taken the chance. Besides… with all the stress of being a world-renowned super surgeon, he probably wasn't ever thinking about her anyway…

When she snapped back into reality, both her and Derek had finished cleaning up, their eyes accidentally catching one another's. He half-smiled again, as he turned around and walked out of the room.

"I'm one of the most skilled surgeons in the world. I've successfully helped to defeat Delphi and GUILT; geez, I've even saved some of my closest friends and colleagues! So, why can't I get her out of my mind…" Derek thought to himself as he slowly paced down the hall at Caduceus, on his way to change his clothes. "I could just tell her…get it out in the open, but here I am, walking away again…"

"Its three simple words, Derek…why are you such an IDIOT?"

He hung his head, depressed. Still silent, he continued to walk, at so slow of a pace, he might as well have just stood still.

Angie rested her hands on the edge of the sink, bowing her head and closing her eyes to have a moment of reflection. She needed him. She wanted him more than anything. Now that the GUILT outbreak was over, she feared that they would never be as close as they were over the past few months. "I love him" she admitted internally to herself, as she felt the tears start to well. Her eyes opened suddenly, and without realizing what she was doing, she turned quickly, flinging open the door of the prep room. She walked briskly down the hall, eventually breaking into a sprint toward Derek. He was still walking away, and had picked up his pace, but he was still slow enough that she easily caught up with him. All of the emotions she had been hiding during this whole ordeal were coming to the surface, and for once, she wasn't afraid to let them show.

"Derek!" she called, her voice thick with tears.

The sound of his name pierced the post-operation silence that had fallen over Caduceus. He stopped in his tracks, thinking that his mind was playing tricks on him; but when he heard approaching footsteps, he whirled around quickly. He didn't have a chance to think, because as soon as he had turned completely around, she jumped onto him, latching her arms around his neck. She buried her face in between his shoulder and his neck, holding on for dear life. He stumbled backward at first, but regained his footing, amazed that she hadn't bowled him over. Because of the height difference, her legs dangled inches above the ground, but Derek offset this by grabbing around her tiny waist without a second thought. He held her in that suspended position for a few seconds, before she started to sob uncontrollably. He wordlessly gripped her tighter, understanding every single emotion running through her body – it had been a long journey, one full of incredible pain… but they made it. Squishing his face into her shoulder, he took long, deep breaths, inhaling the smell of her: and as he squeezed her tighter, he softly whispered "Its okay.. I promise, its all over now".

Derek stooped down a little bit, pulling Angie's legs up from their dangling position. He pulled her closer into his body, and carried her a couple feet to a vacant room. He sat down on the crisp white linens, his crying nurse still curled up in his grasp. Tears began to flow freely down his face as well, each one a symbol of another burden he had been carrying for the past few months. The pair held each other close in the darkness, with only the slightest bit of moonlight trickling through the blinds. They cried out every frustration they had experienced during the past year. Every time they had to hold it together when they were terrified. Every time they had been asked for answers nobody else had. Every time they risked their lives because they were all the world could depend on. Every sleepless night and every Adam induced nightmare. And most of all, every time they had never told one another how they really felt. Derek held his nurse, rocking her ever so slightly, all the while trying to calm himself down from his own bout of tears. Time passed, and slowly, Angie's body stopped shaking, exhausted from the constant sobs that had consumed her for what seemed like hours. They sat in almost complete silence for a small while, the only sound in the air caused by them taking in shuttering, uneven breaths to try to regain composure. The grip they had on one another never weakened, until she picked her head up off his shoulders and looked into his dark chocolate eyes. Angie removed his glasses and set them on the nightstand. It was then she saw the breathtaking brown circles his spectacles had been hiding, all the while realizing that the redness surrounding them was because he had been crying, also. Their eyes never strayed from one another as she sat up under her own will, moving herself to sit on the bed next to him. They stared deeper and deeper, still sniffling periodically, their breathing labored, until all noise became non-existent. She laced her fingers with his, and shortly afterward, he ran a hand through her hair, stroking the frame of her face before it rested on her neck. She sighed and bit her lip slightly, but relaxed, squeezing his hand gently. Derek knew in his heart that this was it.

He moved forward, and in one swift, gentle, yet intense movement, kissed the lips of the nurse that he had been in love with for so long. She left out a soft content 'mmm', as she and her first true love shared the best moment of their lives. Bewilderment and love for one another fueled them, as the entanglement of their mouths became their wonderful dream come true. It was slow, yet full of passion. Forceful, yet the most gentle thing in the world. It was, without a doubt, perfect… and it couldn't have lasted long enough. Between each kiss came mildly heavy breathing, due to the face that neither of them wanted to ruin the moment by coming up for air. Tears began to spill again from Angie's emerald eyes… this moment was everything to her. Derek melted on the other end… She was finally _his_… and with every touch of their lips, he began to realize that she had really felt the same way all along.

Derek unlaced his other hand from hers and slid it upward, holding her porcelain face in his hands, as he gave her one last lingering kiss- reluctantly letting her go afterward. He opened his eyes slowly to the sight of her nuzzling her face in his hands, tears still damp on her rosy cheeks. She blinked twice before gradually opening her own eyes to see him staring at her with a dazed look plastered on his face. He reached up gently, wiping the tears off of her skin with the sides of his thumbs, before dabbing at the corners of his eyes as well.. The dazed look faded into a loving, comforting smile as they locked eyes once more. She couldn't help but start to beam, still shaking from the intensity of the moment they had just shared.

"Dr. Stiles… I-I.. I just…" she started to say, but was interrupted by his finger on her mouth. He kissed her softly once more, and then pulled away.

"I think that said anything that I ever needed you to know" he whispered, sending chills through her body. She nodded gently in agreement, but furrowed her eyebrows as she saw him hesitate afterward.

"…Except…" he whispered, looking away from her and down at the floor, his face suddenly serious.

She watched him smile before turned back to look at her once more. He kissed her one last time, very softly, and as he pulled away, he let the words flow out without a second thought.

"I love you… More than anything in the world, Angela Thompson"

Angie teared up once again, half laughing out of happiness, and half crying. She shielded her mouth with the back of her hand, trying to control herself from breaking down once again.

"I l-love you too – s-so much."

And with those words, he pulled her into him, smiling more than he had ever done so in his life. He wrapped his arms around her and carefully lowered the two of them back onto the bed, silently reveling in the moment. It was perfect.

"Oh, Angie? There's one more thing I wanted to tell you" he asked

She turned around to face him.

He smiled.

"I think its okay for you to call me Derek, now"

She giggled, and gave him a soft peck on the cheek.

"I love you, Derek… Goodnight"

Curing GUILT didn't mean a damn thing right now, as far as Derek Stiles was concerned. That sentence made his life.

They smiled at each other, kissed once more, and laid back down, wrapped in each other's arms… And they wouldn't be found until the next morning.

…or so they thought…

Heels clicked on the floor of the hallway previously occupied by the doctor and his nurse.

"Where the hell could he have gone so fast? He really is a sneaky little bast--"

She paused. Spinning on the tips of her toes to her right, she noticed a faint sleeping figure in the room at the end of the hall, unable to make out its identity. She crept closer to the window on the door, realizing why… it wasn't a figure, it was two figures. And those figures belonged to Derek Stiles and Angie Thompson. Moving closer to the window, it was established that Angie was on her side, with him spooning her tightly from behind. His arms were wrapped around her, his hands holding hers, all ten of their fingers intertwined. Their bottom halves remained locked in the spooning position, but Angie's back was flat against the bed, her head turned facing Derek. Their foreheads rested against one another, their breathing perfectly in sync. The silver haired surgeon broke out in a huge grin at the sight…

"Its about damn time" she muttered, still staring at them. "Take good care of him, Angie…"

And with that comment, the Doctor-Nurse pair were free to enjoy their first night's sleep… together.

----------------------------------

Derek Stiles's eyes unglazed themselves. Three years later, his memory of their first kiss was still as vivid as the moment it had happened. He smiled happily, quickly realizing that him daydreaming all the time wasn't going to help him figure this problem out at all. The entire time he had been off in his own little world, he had heard Tyler babbling with someone out in the ha---.

Before he could finish the thought, it dawned on him. Tyler was talking to Leslie.

"I'll kill him" he muttered, jumping from his desk.

* * *

Aww! This was always how I had hoped those two were going to hook up!

Yay cameo from Kimishima/Weaver!

I know my story is skipping around just a tad, but I figured I would paint a picture on how they actually came to be. Let's recap, shall we!?

Guilt breaks out, runs its course for a year. At the end of that year, Derek and Angie profess their undying love for one another (yay!). They've been dating for almost 3 years now. Angie's conference is now over, she's returning home tomorrow. Their anniversary is in 4 days. Can Derek pull it together in time? Will Derek and Tyler have a mudfight because of Tyler's infidelity?? MORE, IMPORTANTLY, WHY AREN'T THERE ENOUGH MUDFIGHTS AROUND HERE?!?!?! Lol – I'm sure we all know how excited everyone gets when they hear of an impending mudfight!

I know the answer to all those questions (except the one about why there are no mudfights...) bwahahahah!

PS: Thanks to everyone for the generous reviews! Like I said – I hope that the skipping around doesn't confuse anyone, especially now with my awesome recap! I just, am already two chapters ahead, and I'm dying to create SOME kind of suspense here, lol, especially because I want to post them ALL AT ONCE!

I'm going to stop blabbing. Again. I promise this time though!

See you next time!


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter is a tad short... is it slightly sad that I say its short, and its still over 1000 words? shrugs

If anyone is curious as to why I'm updating so quickly, its mostly because we've had a really slow week at work, and that I'm sick... so its not like I'm sleeping at all or anything :(

Gack. I loved writing the love scene from last chapter. Thanks to anyone who's keeping up with reviews - they all make me smile, and i appreciate it!

We are back from flashback-land now! Derek has just realized that Tyler is talking to Leslie out in the hallway. Oh no! Will he get there before Tyler opens his big mouth?

No. He won't... I won't lie. Otherwise, this chapter would be boring and gorey, because with MoonCat's suggestion, Tyler would have very large amounts of scapel stab wounds. Ouch. Instead of that, I'll just let hilarity ensue. Sound good? LET'S ROCK! (thank you to everyone that says this now, it is my new life catch phrase)

* * *

Tyler Chase was never very good at keeping secrets… but for some reason, people still told them to him all the time. He figured he would tell people that he's a bad confidant one of these days, but the information was always way too interesting for Tyler to not want to know. So instead, he kept his mouth shut at the time, and told Leslie later on. This time, unfortunately for his four-eyed friend, was no exception.

"He WHAT?! OhmygodohmygodOHMYGOD!!!"

Tyler jerked the phone away from his ear, wincing in pain.

"Les, honey – you gotta take it down a notch… I'm deaf." He placed the call on speakerphone, so that he could safely keep her shrill voice away from his ears. "And listen… you can't tell her. Not a word… promise babe?"

"Oh I promise! I would NEVER ruin something like that! And, I'm so sorry about being so loud!" she giggled, "but this is such a HUGE DEAL! He must have like, ESP or something…"

"What are you talking about?"

Leslie calmed herself down. "Last month when my apartment was being renovated, I stayed at Angie's for a couple nights, and we got to talking. And, well… she was telling me about how much she wanted to marry him, but that she was too afraid to bring up the conversation again.

Tyler's mouth dropped open for a second, quickly fading into a huge grin. "No way!"

"Yeah…" she said, her voice suddenly hushed. "She was really upset that day.. she thought after dating for three years, that he would've asked her if he really wanted to get married."

"Well, Les, seriously – he really does… you should see him though, he's so nervous right now. He actually asked me to do it for him, because he thinks he's going to screw it up!." a mild chuckle escaped his lips.

"…I also thought that you were going to keep your **STUPID MOUTH SHUT**!"

Tyler whirled around, coming face to face with a very furious Derek. His eyes widened with panic, as he searched for words to explain himself.

"I-I… uhm, Der- I just…. Shit."

Derek crossed his arms over his chest and stared down his so called "friend", silently demanding an answer as to why he was a moron.

Just then, a phenomenon occurred. For once in his life, Tyler Chase was absolutely speechless. He stood in complete shock that he had been discovered, although it was bound to happen – he DID happen to be standing ten feet from Derek's office… probably not the greatest idea he's ever had, but it was too late to fix. Speechless was not working in Tyler's favor at the moment. Not only was Derek ready to start a very unnecessary surgery on him with a steak knife, but his lack of speech had left Leslie wide open to start talking again - over the speaker.

"Awwwwww… that's so adorable! I'm so excited for them – I mean, they're going to get married! Awwwww!!!!" were the words that blasted over the speakerphone.

Tyler was always brought up to mind his manners, especially around the women in his life... but if he could've told Leslie to shut her big mouth before she had a chance to say that, he would've. Derek's eyes narrowed into little slits, giving off such an evil glare, Tyler was surprised that lasers didn't shoot out of them and catch his lying ass on fire. They silently stared at one another, one in shock, the other completely pissed off, until they heard another familiar voice resound through the telephone.

"Who's getting married?!"

Derek's eyes widened in disbelief, as Tyler smacked himself in the forehead with his free hand.

"Oh— uh, Angie! I was just on my way back to our room, I didn't expect to see you here!"

"Fuck." Derek mouthed silently, bowing his head and shaking it back and forth. This was getting worse by the second, and there was nothing he could do to stop the spiral. Tyler let out a small "No way…" watching Derek shoot him a dirty look in his peripheral vision. He silently prayed to God that somehow, Leslie would be able to find a way to get out of it without Angie knowing that she was lying… after all, although he loved her very much, it wasn't hard for Tyler to admit that Derek's girlfriend was much smarter than his.

"Oh, haha" Leslie started nervously. Tyler and Derek both froze, holding their breath. Suddenly, Leslie's voice turned back to its usual bubbly tone. "Its nobody you would know! Tyler just told me that his aunt is finally getting remarried with the guy Tyler and I set her up with!"

Tyler pumped his fist in the air as Derek breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Although she didn't seem like it, Leslie was really quick on her feet.

"Wow! Tell them I said congratulations!" was the reply heard faintly over the speaker. "Are you coming though? We probably should head back…"

"Yeah, I know.. O-ok, Ty? We're heading back now… I'll call you before I go to bed!"

"Sounds good. Talk to you then"

Tyler slowly cocked his head up to the side, afraid to face Derek now that he couldn't hide behind conversation. His friend just shook his head disapprovingly, and turned around in disgust... walking back into his office. He paced after him quickly, trying to explain.

"Dude! I'm sorry, its just…"

"That you're an idiot?" He snapped, cutting Tyler off. "You promised, dude.. what the hell!?"

Derek plopped down at his desk He propped his elbow up on it, cradling his chin in his hand. He removed his glasses and rubbed slowly across his face before putting them back on, turning towards his traitor of a friend once more.

"Its ruined. She's going to find out…"

"No she won't!" Tyler planted both of his hands very firmly onto Derek's desk, making him jump back in surprise.

"Leslie said specifically that she would never ruin something like that" He stated matter-of-factly, knowing that it mostly likely meant nothing to Derek. "I just figured that since you were so nervous, that you could use girl advice – ESPECIALLY a friend of Angie's."

It was a total lie. Tyler wanted to dig himself out of a hole, not admit that he was as big of a gossip queen as his girlfriend.

Derek relaxed himself a little. He had never thought of it that way.

"Okay. BUT – nobody else knows, got it?"

"Got it"

"And, lets wait on talking to Leslie for a time that we know the two of them won't be together."

"You got it dude, anything…"

"…you're still pissed, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah" Derek said, an evil grin sweeping across his face. "Make no mistake – your ass is mine, Chase"

Tyler gulped. He couldn't afford to be super glued to anything else – the skin was just growing back from the last time...

"Don't worry dude – I'll take care of rounds for the rest of the night… just relax, and get some thinking done" he said, a nervous smile on his face. He hoped that the offer would tide Derek over for the time being… and it did.

Derek smiled. He reached into his pocket, removing his cell phone. New text message. Recipient: Leslie Sears. Message: "You are my hero. Don't say a word though please!"

He flipped it shut, smiling for a brief moment before he realized that yelling at Tyler was wasting time that he really didn't have. As soon as Angie was his fiance, he would make Tyler cry like a little bitch. But not now - the big day was closing in, and he had work to do.

"Here's to another sleepless night…"

* * *

Woo!

I know its kind of a pointless chapter, but i needed something to interject before i started to finish it off -- i'm in writers block mode right now :( i know how its going to go, i just can't get it there. Sighs oh well, i still like this chapter :) Tyler.. what a little bitch!

See you all next time - and thanks for all the nice stuff, again!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, all! I managed to combat my writer's block, out of sheer boredom from being so darn sick :(

I noticed something today while playing Trauma Center - after the operation in "Relapse" when Derek is clutching his chest in pain (woe is he!), does anyone else see that his hand is either poorly drawn, or deformed? If you haven't seen it, go take a look... seriously, it looks like he only has 3 fingers... or maybe I'm just looking at it wrong, who knows :)

Let's recap again (This is more for my benefit, but I'll catch everyone up here!)

Angie was gone for 3 days, she is returning home today, the 4th day. That means, Derek has three more days (in my mind, it happens to fall on a Sunday.. don't ask why, it just does), until the big day. Will anyone else open their big mouth? Will he be able to figure out what to say, and where to say it? Let's see, shall we!

* * *

To be honest, Derek was relieved that Angie wasn't in town at the moment. 

Deprived of sleep and off in his own world all the time, Derek realized that he was very lucky to have Dr. Chase taking care of (most of) his workload. He had performed an appendectomy on two hours of sleep and survived; but needless to say, he wasn't going to make a habit of fighting to stay awake while he had his hands inside a patient. Besides – he wasn't thinking quickly enough to be able to hide the fact that he was a complete mess from Angie. It was good he had time until she came home, but he still missed her.

Following the surgery, the doctor had slipped off into an unconscious state, his mind still racing.

_I'm such a disaster – it's a good thing she doesn't come home until tomorrow… God knows I can't hide a thing from that woman, she'd know before she even saw me… all you need is a few hours to pull yourself together – a few hours of sleep. Yeah, that should be good for you… its too bad the stupid sun is shining directly in the window…_

Derek's eyes blinked before he opened them completely. Picking his head up slightly, he looked down at the notepad he had fallen asleep on… more notably, the puddle of drool on the notepad he had fallen asleep on. It was full of little notes and jottings to himself, all outlining possible ways to ask her to be his wife. He hadn't gotten very far with that though, and ended up using the bottom half of the sheet brainstorming ideas on how he could get his next attack on Tyler.

Derek looked at the clock; his shift had ended a whopping **four hours** ago – he was free to go home to enjoy his day off, but was so comfortable… so,_ tired._ Squinting at the rays of sun beaming through his window, he laid his head back down on his desk. He stayed there silently, before he jerked into an upright position in a panic.

"Sunshine…"

He grabbed his keys, his wallet, and his cell, and raced out the door.

Sunshine meant it was morning. Morning meant he had one less day to think of the perfect way to propose, and morning also meant…

"Oh no…" he muttered, skidding to a stop in the hallway.

Clarks and Victor happened to be conversing when Derek had flown around the corner. He was unshaven, his hair was plastered flat on one side of his head, his glasses sat crooked on his face, his clothes were rumpled, and he had a very noticeable smear of drool on his left cheek. They watched as he checked his watch, becoming more panicked when he came to a realization unknown to both of them.

"You look like you got hit by a train. What's going on with you?" Victor smirked, proud of another one of the millions of smart-ass comments he managed to come up with to burn his colleagues.

"Don't have time right now, sorry!"

And with that Derek was gone, sprinting through the halls of Caduceus. He dodged gurneys, nurses carrying trays and charts, and small children visiting their loved ones. He hadn't even noticed Sidney and Dr. Hoffman as he blew past them, leaving them to laugh to one another at his expense.

Derek flew down the stairs and into his black Commander. He started it up and raced out of the parking lot, squealing his tires and cutting off several cars in the process.

He had slept four hours past his shift's end. It was morning. Angie was on her way home, and she had told him this morning after his surgery that she would be home around one in the afternoon. Having not talked to her since, he knew there was a slim to none chance of her arriving later – she had to be the most punctual person on this planet…

Glancing down at the clock once more, he let his eyes focus before deciphering the time.

It was 12:15. He stomped on the gas.

Derek decided that after everything was straightened out, he would check himself into a sleep clinic. He was a narcoleptic, for sure.

After a short, hot shower, a nice shave, and a new set of clothes, he had finally allowed himself to relax. He plopped onto his couch, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

Thankfully for him, the universe wasn't about to let Derek Stiles slip into another slumber. As soon as his eyes shut, his cell phone buzzed in the other room. He jumped up and ran into his bedroom, prying it out of the pocket of his scrubs. Glancing at the home screen, he saw it was her. 12:45 was the time now, so this was most likely a call to let him know that she was already home.

He was wrong.

"I just wanted to let you know that we're okay – we saw an adorable shopping outlet on the way back, and are going to stop and do some shopping, maybe get some lunch… so, it should only be another two hours or so, okay?"

Derek exhaled, lowering himself slowly onto his bed. "Okay Angie – that sounds good. You girls have fun, and don't stay too late… I haven't seen you in almost four days, you know…"

She 'awed'. "I know, can't wait to see you! Promise we won't be too late! I love you!"

"I love you too. Bye Ang."

He flipped his phone shut. What a relief.

Rising to his feet, Derek began to pace around his apartment. Stopping in front of his TV, he reached on top of it and picked up a frame. It was a picture of the two of them: huge smiles plastered on their faces, dressed up for her cousin's wedding. He was hugging her from behind, head rested against hers, chin on her shoulder. The photo had been taken the same day he snapped the one that he used on his call screen. She was beautiful – hair curly, body being hugged by a sequined black dress that fell to the floor. It was his favorite picture of the two of them – he usually hated to wear suits, but if it would make her doll herself up like that, he would do it every day of his life. He set it back down, smiling, as he turned, taking in a panoramic view of his apartment. It lacked memorabilia of the two of them, which was the inspiration that he needed right now. Slipping on his shoes, he grabbed his keys and walked out the door.

Fifteen minutes of quiet driving later, Derek had arrived at Angie's apartment across town. He lived near Caduceus, and she closer to Hope, which fortunately meant that she spent many nights at his place to cut down on the commute. He pulled into her parking lot, powering his car off, locking the doors, and climbing the stairs.

The carpet in the hallway made a slight scratching noise as he walked toward her door. Flipping through the keys on his ring, he mentally identified them all.

"Apartment. Car. Office. Mom's House. On-Call room. Supply room."

He stopped at a small silver key that she had given to him, telling him to use it whenever he felt the need to. And oh boy, did he need to.

"Angie's" he muttered softly.

Derek turned the key in the lock, pushing the door open. Inhaling deeply, he let the sweet aroma of vanilla, her favorite scent, flood his senses. He shut the door behind him, walking further into her deserted apartment. Scrapbooks, picture frames, videos… even her screen saver, were all documented memories of their time together. He sat in her black leather armchair, soaking it all in. This was what he needed. Pulling out a scrapbook she had been working on, he relived the course of their time together. Stories flooded his head as he remembered the past. Vacations, random work pictures, birthday parties, weddings—

Weddings.

He flipped the pages of the book, focusing in on Angie's gorgeous face. Words rushed to his brain as he thought about her. She was perfect. Beautiful. Funny. Smart as a whip. Adorable. Loving…

Derek smiled. Thinking back over their time together, he realized something important.

He stuttered like crazy every time he was unsure about something.

He rose from the armchair, pacing once more. A hand settled on the back of his neck as he racked his brain.

"The symposium… lying to her for the first time…"

He pulled his hand from his neck and placed it on his hip, mirroring the other one.

"But telling her I loved her…"

Derek grinned. It was at that exact moment that he knew what he was going to do. It was still going to be helpful for him to get a general idea of what to say, but he knew that as soon as he looked into her eyes and held her beautiful face in his hands, that he would know in his heart what to say. He always stuttered when he was unsure about something…

…but he had never for a minute doubted how much he loved her.

Smiling once more, he let out a content sigh. No sooner did the last of the breath expel itself from his mouth, than Angie came falling in the door, weighed down from her luggage.

She beamed.

"I knew that was your car, you sneak!" she said breathlessly, pulling all of her things inside.

Angie closed the door behind her. She stopped to take him in – his hands were resting on his hips, which were fitted with a pair of khakis. A navy blue polo hugged his arms and torso, which had become much more chiseled since she had known him. His hair was having one of its neater days, still slightly damp from a shower. Three days seemed like an eternity when she was away from him – she had missed him so much.. But she was back with him now, home: where she belonged.

Derek grinned, chuckling slightly. He walked toward her and took her purse and shopping bags from her hands, and setting them on the floor. Stooping slightly, he wrapped his hands around the circumference of her waist, hoisting her into the air, eye level with him. He embraced her in a giant hug.

She giggled and threw her arms around him.

"I'm so glad you're here…" she said contently, her voice muffled into his shoulder.

They held each other for a minute or so, interrupted by Derek pulling his head back to look at her.

"You have no clue how much I missed you"

Derek paced slowly forward with her still in his grasp. Pinning her back against the door to her apartment, he pressed his body up against her tightly. She saw a flash of playfulness in his eyes before he kissed her forcefully, making it seem like he hadn't kissed her in three years… not three days.

She couldn't lie though, she loved it. For some reason, Derek was a very fidgety nervous person, unless he was around her. When they started dating, she was afraid he was going to be the really timid, shy type… but he always knew how to say the right thing, kiss her exactly the right way at the perfect time, and get her heart racing, even after all this time.

He pulled his lips off of hers, leaving her gasping for breath – but still kept her pinned between him and the door.

"You never fail to impress me, Derek Stiles" she said, eyes sparkling. "And I missed you… more." She smiled, cocking her head to the right.

They had started the "I love you more" argument a month after they had started dating, both knowing it would never come to an end.

Derek shook his head, laughing. "Sorry, but you know that's not going to fly…"

Angie kissed his forehead.

"Are you going to put me down? Because I was going to take a nap, but I can just sleep here if you aren't going to let me go…" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Derek paused.

In a series of fluid movements, he pushed his torso into Angie to steady her against the door, releasing his hands from her waist. He slid them down, grabbing around the part of her thigh just above her knee. Using this as leverage, he hoisted her higher into the air, producing a small shriek from her mouth. Derek backed away from the door and pushed her legs away from his body, sending her top half flying over his shoulder. He hooked his arm around the back of her knees, and started to walk.

"Derekkkk!!!!!!!!!!!! What on EARTH are you DOING?! Put me down!"

"Relax" he said calmly, laughing at her futile attempt to free herself.

"But my stuff!"

Derek stopped.

"I'll get it later – I haven't seen you in three days, remember?"

Angie quieted down.

"Where are we going?"

He smiled.

"To go take a nap…"

Derek Stiles walked his hopefully soon-to-be fiancé back to her room, her form flung over his shoulder. After seeing her today, he held all the confidence in the world on his shoulders. He could figure out the words to say – all he needed to do was look at her.

"Its going to be perfect" he thought to himself, smiling happily.

"…just like her"

* * *

"Reunited and it feels so good..." 

Couldn't resist... sorry.

In my own imagination, Derek drives a black Jeep Commander. I don't know why, he just does. It seems to suit him, I think.

He managed to calm himself down! Now all he needs is a place, and the perfect words. He can do it, don't you think!?

Review!


	6. Chapter 6

I'm going to warn you all right now, this chapter is over 4000 words. So, take a potty break, or split it into two, stretch, get some water.. you know the drill.

The big day is finally here! (well, almost - this chapter is set over Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday - that's why its a novel in itself... ) Derek is a nervous wreck - I've never proposed to anyone, I'm a girl - but i just assumed its a big deal, and that he would be. Because, well, he's Derek. He's nervous about everything.

Thanks to everyone who's been keeping up with this so far - for what its worth, I don't think this chapter will disappoint. And that's all I will say. :) Enjoy, and please leave feedback!

* * *

**Friday:**

Derek stirred. The sunlight crept in through the curtains, gently waking him from his slumber. He quickly noticed that his left arm was completely asleep, and when he looked over, he remembered why. She was fast asleep, head rested in the crook of his elbow, cutting off all circulation. He smiled: waking up next to her was something he could never get enough of.

After a very heated make-out session the night before, they had talked about their physical relationship. Angie was very old-fashioned and had a strong moral sense – it was always her wish to wait until she was married for sex: and although they had cut it close a few times, Derek always respected her and himself, because he felt the same way. Last night was another one of those 'close calls', but he was quick to cut it short – knowing that if she said yes to him in two short days, they wouldn't be waiting much longer. In his eyes, it just gave him one amazing more thing to look forward to about the future - something they would experience, together.

Angie rolled from her back to her stomach, pulling her arms into her chest. She silently stretched for a quick second, and then opened her eyes to look at Derek, who was watching her every move. She smiled, and closed her eyes once more, content right where she was at.

"Good morning, gorgeous" he said, softly rubbing her back

"Mmm… good morning.." she replied, her voice muffled in her thick fluffy pillow.

Angie was always a big morning person, and Derek was not. But for some strange reason, whenever they stayed the night together, he was always the first to wake up, and she kept going back to sleep.

The only way he could get her up was foolproof, and even a little mean… but he knew she would regret it if she stayed in bed all day.

He rolled on his side towards her, pulling off the hand that had been rubbing her back, and placing it on the side of her stomach. He squeezed quickly twice in succession, and watched as her eyes shot open in fear.

"No! No tickling! I'm up!"

Derek sat up, laughing. He knew he could get her to do anything by threatening a tickle fight, but he had to pick his battles carefully – she was a sore loser… He took her hand and pulled her down onto his chest, wrapping his arms around her stomach.

"I'm not ready to get up yet, I just like cuddling with you more when you're conscious – that's all." he admitted, kissing her on the cheek. "Besides, today's our last night shift for awhile, so I thought maybe we could just lounge around…"

Angie flipped over onto her stomach once more, resting her face on his chest and looking at him sadly.

"I wish I could, but I have a lot of things to do today… today's err—"

"…errand day" Derek finished.

A few days a month, Angie took time out to run all her errands, pay her bills, and clean her apartment from top to bottom. It was a cute little quirk of hers, but it always meant he would spend the day alone.

Suddenly, he wasn't so sad anymore. He had two days to get his plans in order, so he could use the spare time…

"Well…" she started. "I think I can spare another hour for something like this… but then I absolutely have to get up. No tickling. Got it?"

He smiled. They had influenced each other a lot during their time together, and at this moment, he was glad that his laziness was rubbing off on her.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Angie let Derek into his apartment and kissed him goodbye, taking off with his Jeep. She usually borrowed it on her errand days, her own car too small to fit half the stuff she needed to pick up. He saw this as a perfect opportunity to sit down and get all his plans laid out, since he couldn't go anywhere, anyway.

Pouring himself a cup of coffee, he sat down in his kitchen with a pad of paper, and made himself a checklist of things to do before proposing. He had four major things to do, but still felt like he was forgetting something...

Thinking for a few minutes, he wrote his last step down. It would involve a trip to a place he hated to go, but it had to be done. Now, he could focus on the actual proposal.

Derek decided that he wanted his proposal to be intimate – doing it out in public meant that way too many things could go wrong, which made him more nervous than he already was. Since it was also their anniversary, he could go a bit over the top without her suspecting a thing. After much consideration, he decided on the final plan, talking it out to himself.

"I talk to Leslie, and get her to make Angie come over for the day to get ready. I pick her up from Leslie's house, and take her out for dinner and dancing. I tell her that I've got another surprise waiting for her, blindfold her, and drive her home. When we walk in, she sees lit candles EVERYWHERE, and a huge trail of pink rose petals (her favorite flower) through her apartment, leading into her bedroom. When she follows the trail, she'll see a vase with 35 roses, just **one** short of three dozen – one dozen for every year we've been together, and next to them will be a note, explaining to her that the last one represents something very special. When she asks me what it is, I'll walk her out into the kitchen, pour some champagne, sit her down, and give her the last rose. I'll explain to her that she means everything to me – always has, always will, and that this last rose hopefully represents the rest of our lives together. I get down on my knee, pull out the ring, ask her to be my wife…"

He paused.

"And hopefully she says yes… and doesn't think I'm the biggest sap in the world"

He let out a big sigh, knowing Angie always had been a big romantic at heart… he just secretly hoped that it wasn't too over-the-top.

Derek stood up, grinning from ear to ear. He was getting closer, all he had to do was enlist the help of a few of his friends. He put on his tennis shoes and grabbed for his keys.

"No car…" he mumbled to himself.

Caduceus was only a ten minute jog away, and he hadn't run in a few days, so he clipped his iPod to the waistband of his shorts, and jogged away.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Step 1: Talk to Leslie and Tyler**

Derek walked off the elevator at Caduceus, removing the headphones from his ears. He walked over to Tyler and Leslie's office, fortunately seeing both of them inside.

Leslie shrieked and jumped from her seat, throwing her arms around him.

"I promise, I didn't say a WORD! But I am SO EXCITED! I mean, two days away, aren't you freaking out yet?"

Derek smiled. "A little, but I'm doing better, especially since I've got my plans in order, but they involve you both, so I need some help."

"Oh my gosh, ANYTHING you need! Tell us!"

He outlined his plans for the both of them. Leslie didn't stop 'aww'-ing the whole time, even tearing up a little at the end. He explained to Tyler that it was going to be a big load of candles, and that he didn't want to leave them lit while they were out at dinner, so he agreed to meet him at her apartment that night. After he was done talking, they both agreed that it was a great idea, and would absolutely help him out… on one condition: Leslie wanted to see the ring.

"I guess it's a good idea…" Tyler started "although its a tad late to have her best friend tell you that she'll absolutely hate it"

Leslie elbowed him in the stomach, producing a loud "Oof!"

"Come on, Derek." she said, pulling him out of the room and up to his office.

Leslie was speechless. Her mouth dropped wide open, and she let out a small gasp as Derek opened the tiny blue box.

"Will she like it?" he asked, slightly trembling.

She smiled. "It has Angie written all over it… she'll freak!"

He breathed a heavy sigh of relief and stood up. "I can't thank you enough for helping…" he said as he pulled her into a hug, ring still in hand. "I'm so nervous…"

"Oh, Derek! I'm glad you're here, I was--"

Derek and Leslie both froze, still in each other's grasps. The hand with the ring in it was still around her back, wide open for the new occupant in the room to see. They had seen too, as their speech was abruptly cut off, and Derek was watching them stare at the contents of the box.

Leslie pulled away from Derek quickly.

"I'll talk to you later…" she said quietly, removing herself from the room.

The figure paced into the office, removing the box from Derek's hands. Not a sound was heard as they examined the ring, expressionless.

They spoke, lips turning up into a big smile.

"This is probably the reason you've been acting so weird lately, isn't it, Derek?"

He nodded. "I-I, was, uh, going to tell you, just, not this unexpectedly…"

Dr. Hoffman let out a chuckle. "Relax, Derek! I remember what it was like right before I proposed to my wife – I was so jittery I didn't sleep for a week!"

Derek sighed, letting himself calm down from the surprise arrival.

"While you're here, Dr. Hoffman, there's actually something I need to ask you…"

(Might as well kill two birds with one stone).

**Step Two: Beg Dr. Hoffman for you and Angie to have Sunday off.**

The director chuckled, looking at the expression on Derek's face as he asked him. It looked like he was a little kid, afraid to be yelled at.

"Remember when I came in your office, telling you that I was glad you were here? Its your lucky day apparently – because we had to move a surgery up to later tonight, which happened to be yours and Angie's only operation for Sunday. I was going to request you come in for a bit to do paperwork, but I can let that slide…"

Derek was shocked at how well this was going.

Dr. Hoffman rose from his seat, extending his hand out to shake Derek's. "Good luck Derek… and nice choice on the ring."

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly with his hand.

"Thanks, Dr. Hoffman…"

**Step Three: Call the florist.**

"Okay, thanks so much!"

Derek flipped his phone shut. The flowers would be ready to go.

"I can't believe I'm spending so much money for something that's going to die in six days…" he said to himself.

**Step Four: Get candles. Lots of candles.**

That would have to wait until tomorrow. His and Angie's shift started in an hour, and she still had his car. Speaking of, he needed to go home and change.

He didn't feel quite like running any more. His heart was already racing fast enough.

Derek pressed and held the number '2' on his phone, speed dialing him to Angie, who answered on the first ring.

"Hey, can you swing by Caduceus real quick?"

* * *

**Saturday**

Bells jingled as Angie walked into her favorite boutique, located in downtown Angeles Bay.

Three years was a big milestone, and therefore, deserved the perfect dress for the occasion. Luckily, she had her best friend tagging along with her to help her out.

"Leslie, I don't understand why you can't tell me what he has up his sleeve! Its not like I'm going to say anything…"

"Listen Ang… I know you hate being out of the loop, but the only reason he told me is because he wants it to be a surprise... he just wanted me to make sure you were dressed right for the plans, that's all."

Angie smiled, hiding her frustration. Her friend was right – she absolutely hated being left out of this, but she decided that if Derek wanted it to be a secret, she would let him have his way… just this once.

The girls paced through the boutique, looking through racks upon racks of dresses.

"Ugly. Ugly. Ugly. Hideous." said Angie to each dress she saw.

Twenty minutes later, she still had no luck, and was nearing the back of the store. Right before she gave up completely, she heard Leslie gasp from a few feet away.

"Ang, quick – try this on."

Angie stepped out from the curtains of her dressing room, standing out in from of the giant tri-fold mirror. She beamed uncontrollably, leaving Leslie in awe of her.

"You look, absolutely… perfect. That's the one."

Angie nodded. "Yep, you're right – he'll love it"

She looked in the mirror. A navy blue sparkled halter dress hugged around her neck, coming to a very low V in the front, which happened to accentuate certain 'entities' that Angie had been naturally blessed with. It pulled in real tight around her waist, and hugged her slender frame down to her knees, where it flowed out from there to the ground. As she turned around and looked at the back, she noticed that, well, there was no back. Two pieces of long flowing material connected to the front of the dress joined in the middle of her back where she had tied them together a bow, leaving the rest of the fabric flowing gently down her backside. Every step she took, a different part of the dress glimmered in the light, which made her feel like…

"…a princess" she said softly to herself.

Leslie dabbed away at tears which had accumulated at the corners of her eyes. While she told Angie that they were the result of how beautiful she looked, it was mostly because she knew how special the real surprise was going to be.

They were snapped back from fairy-tale land by the tune resounding from Angie's phone. Leslie grabbed it out of her purse, looking at the caller ID.

"Its your prince…" she said happily, tossing the phone to Angie.

* * *

**Sunday**

After the longest week of his entire life, the big day was finally here.

Derek Stiles awoke to the sound of knocking at the door to his apartment. His doorman stood before him, holding a small, neatly-wrapped package. He thanked him and gave him a tip, closing the door.

He tore off the paper. Inside it was a small card, which read: "Thank you for the happiest three years of my life… Love you with all my heart :) – Ang."

He smiled and removed the card, opening up the small box. She had gotten him an amazing brand new watch for their anniversary, and it was a pretty pricey one, at that. Derek removed it from the box, and when he flipped it over, noticed a small engraving on the back which said "Love you forever…"

His eyes widened in disbelief. That was the exact same engraving that he had put on the inside of her ring.

Instead of panicking about it, he just slipped the watch on. It fit perfectly, and when he looked at it, he noticed that he had to get going, or else he was going to run out of time.

--------------------------------

Derek walked through the doors of the Angeles Bay prison to complete step five of his checklist. This was the step he had almost forgotten, but was also the most important.

**Step Five: Ask Professor Blackwell's Permission to Marry His Daughter**

After being offered a formal pardon for his help with GUILT, the professor had declined, accepting a three and a half year sentence in the county jail. That time was almost up now, and that was good for Derek – hopefully with his blessing, he would be out just in time to give his little girl away.

A guard led Derek to a small visiting room, where he sat at one of two chairs in the room. A table separated him from the other chair, which was vacant at the moment. The guard walked and took his place in the corner. Derek silently wished he wouldn't be standing there – he was nervous enough already… but he knew there was nothing he could do about it. Just as he began to wonder where the professor was, he heard a click, as the door handle turned, and the professor walked in the room. Derek stood up to greet him, noticing his surprise in seeing Derek, alone, instead of his daughter.

"When they said I had a visitor, I didn't expect to see you!" he grinned, a slight look of confusion on his face.

"How are you, P-Professor Blackwell?" Derek started, outstretching his hand, trying to stop it from violently shaking.

"Stop that!" he said, extending his own hand. Both men took their seats. "I've told you how many times, after three years of dating my daughter, you're allowed to call me Ken. And I'm doing just fine, Derek, how about yourself?"

In a very un-Derek like move, he held up his shaking hand for Ken to see. He watched as the look on his face hardened, looking at the young surgeon with concern.

"Derek, is everything okay? Did something happen to Angie? Are the two of you okay?" he asked in a slight panic.

"No, no.. its nothing like that!" Derek started, watching relief come over the Professor's face. "I just.. I-I.. needed, to, uh.. ask…"

He stopped and took in a big breath. Reaching his hand into his right pocket, he pulled out the ring box, and set it square in the middle of the table. Instantly realizing what it was, the professor's eyes widened, looking at the box, and then up to Derek.

"Prof--… Ken." he said slowly. "I love Angie more than anything in the world. She is... well, everything to me… and, uh… I came here, today, to ask for your permission, a-and, blessing, to ask her to be my wife..."

He froze. Angie's father's eyes were locked directly with his, his face expressionless. Derek started to feel like he had unknowingly activated his Healing Touch, because time seemed to be standing still. He swallowed hard, trying to stop himself from being sick with nervousness. After an eternity of silence, the professor broke the air.

"First of all," Blackwell started. "Let me say it means the world to me that you would come here to ask me for something so important…"

Derek watched as a smile evolved itself on the professor's mouth.

"Second.. Derek, I'd be more than pleased to have you as my son-in-law, under one condition.."

He stopped. "Anything, sir."

"Angie is my little princess. Don't ever treat her like anything but."

Derek grinned. "Of course."

His soon-to-be father in law returned his smile warmly.

"I know I'd never have to worry about that with you… I couldn't have picked a better man for my daughter myself. You absolutely have my permission, and, my blessing."

He rose from the table, and Derek followed suit. Derek reached his hand out again, but Blackwell rejected it, pulling him into a big hug instead. He was surprised, but went along with it.

"Yeah, and forget about calling me Ken. Its Dad to you, now…"

A chill went through Derek's spine. Dad was a name he had never called someone in over 19 years… but as he looked at the face of the man before him, he suddenly felt like part of the family.

"Well, I've got a lot to do – Thank you so much… D-Dad."

------------------------------------------------------------------

Derek stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, walking back into his bedroom. Twenty minutes later, he was finished getting dressed. He closed the door to his bedroom, which had a full-length mirror on the back of it, and checked himself over.

He was never really one to compliment himself, but this was probably the best he had ever looked in his whole life. Working out these past few years had definitely done him good, his frame more masculine and strong. He had decided that for tonight, he would dress himself in all black - and it worked well, transforming him into a very sophisticated and handsome man. His pants were clean and pressed, and the black suit coat he wore made his broad shoulders very noticeable. As he turned his attention to his midsection, he noticed that the black dress shirt hiding his flat, tight, stomach was for some reason, missing something. He pondered for a minute before it dawned on him. Walking into his closet, he removed a baby pink silk tie from it, and slipped it on. It was just the fix the outfit needed - and it was Angie's favorite tie of his. Derek smiled: he was ready as he'd ever be. He walked over to his dresser, picking the ring box up in his hands. He opened it, looking at the ring one last time, before sliding it into the inner breast pocket of his coat. On his way out the door, he stopped at his kitchen counter, slipping his new anniversary present on his wrist, grabbing everything he needed, and walking out the door. He smiled to himself. Hopefully, the next time he walked into his apartment, he would be accompanied by his brand new fiancé.

Balancing the vase, the bag of petals, and the box of tiny tea-light candles, he let himself into Angie's deserted apartment, where he got to work. It took a lot longer than he expected, but she wasn't coming back home, so he didn't worry too much. As he placed the vase in her bedroom, he wrote out the small card, his hand shaking like crazy. He placed the final rose on the kitchen table, and breathed a big sigh of relief. It was all ready to go, and he had more than enough time to make himself some coffee to settle down.

He went over the exact words in his mind over and over again, finally deciding that he should instead take this time to relax himself. He sat down on her couch, and placed the coffee mug on the table, leaning back and closing his eyes. As soon as his bottom and top lids touched each other, they parted again immediately as the front door opened.

"NO!" he thought to himself, standing up quickly from the couch. Everything was ruined - well, not ruined... he would just have to think on the fly now.

He turned his head toward the door, seeing a blonde... but not of the right gender. He needed to stop noticing the blonde hair first.

"Tyler, _thank_ _God_ its just you…"

Derek now knew what a heart attack felt like.

"You're here way too early man, you should probably go ba--"

He stopped talking as he looked at Tyler, who had walked quickly over to him.

"Derek – sit down."

"But, I – "

"Derek… sit."

Derek did as he was told. He sat down on the plush leather couch, Tyler taking a seat next to him.

"Dude, there's something I've gotta tell you… I didn't want to, but I have to. You just have to promise me you won't freak out, okay?" he talked quickly, but Derek still caught every word he said, becoming immediately enraged.

"SHE KNOWS, DOESN'T SHE?! YOU STUPID JERK!"

He stood up quickly from the couch, pacing back and forth, his hands covering his face.

"I can't believe you would.. I can't…. Tyler? How could you let this happen?!"

"Derek!" Tyler barked, snapping Derek out of his fit. "Just come over here, please?"

Derek sat back down on the couch. He rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands, glaring at the floor. He was supposed to be able to trust him and Leslie.. Was it him that had told her, or Leslie? It didn't matter – he was going to kill 'em both…

"Look at me." Tyler said, his voice wavering.

Derek was still furious with him, but cocked his head to the side, seeing the eyes of his friend full of tears. He softened his expression and sat up, secretly full of remorse for yelling at him.

"Tyler? What's… what's going on?"

"Derek…" he said quietly, grabbing his friend's hand tightly. This was way too unusual, way too unlike Tyler... Derek watched as he swallowed hard, trying to speak through the tears.

"Tyler, you're seriously scaring the hell out of me… what, is going on?!"

He glared at Tyler, waiting for an answer, preparing to hear some very bad news.

Unfortunately for Derek, there's no way to prepare yourself for when your world comes crashing down.

Tyler exhaled slowly, turning towards his friend once again.

"There… there's... b-been, an accident, Derek."

* * *

Repeat after me... "CURVEBALL!" 

Poor, poor, really hot Derek.

That part where he was looking at himself in the mirror was for MoonCat - and a little for myself :) I had a date that dressed in all black with a bright tie once. Can we say, hawt?

I tried to fake you all out a few times, making it seem like Ang was coming in through the door... did it work? Huh? did it?!

So, after updating my story pretty much every day, I am ACTUALLY going to leave everyone with a cliffhanger! Sucks, don't it!?

I probably need to change the subject to romance/tragedy... or will it stay away from the tragedy part? Will Derek even GET to propose now? I'm not even sure yet... am i the only one who gets sick of the happy ending every time? Well, maybe not EVERY time... but we'll see what happens.

Sorry it was so long - hope you all still enjoyed! Please leave feedback (if you're not too mad... )


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, people... put down your pitchforks.

You all know you would've been leaving me comments saying "that was so boring" if i would have ended it there. So I didn't. :)

Is Angie okay? Is she even alive, for that matter? How will Derek handle the news? Will he get to ask her after all this preparation?

Read on, my friends... read on. And please don't hate me :(

* * *

Derek Stiles was pretty good at holding himself together when things got tough… but not when it involved Angie in any way. 

"No… no.. no, no, NO, NO, NO!"

He rose from the couch shaking his head violently, as if he could shake the notion right out of his brain.

"No.. Angie.."

"Derek, you've gotta listen to me… you have to stay calm!" Tyler walked towards him, but stopped as a hand shoved him back.

"Stay calm? S--stay… St.. c-c-calm?"

All the color left Derek's face as his back hit the wall, sliding down it until his form slumped on the carpet. He struggled to breathe, loosening his tie quickly, but finding that it hadn't helped him at all. Every breath he took in hurt him worse, as his view of the room began to become more and more blurry. Suddenly, everything was spinning out of control. Tears spilled down his face, frightened by the burning in his lungs, but mostly concentrated on her.

Tyler ignored his friend's request to stay away, rushing to his side.

"Derek! You gotta breathe, man – its not helping! Slow yourself down!"

Seeing that his advice was falling on deaf ears, Tyler rushed into the kitchen. He tore apart every drawer and cupboard, finding a brown paper bag in the second to last one. Rushing back over to where Derek was laying, he realized he was losing him fast. His words were barely audible, and his breaths were becoming faster and faster. He handed the bag to him.

"Derek.. listen to me! Put this around your mouth… breathe into it!"

"M-my.. my.. wo-…world…"

Tyler froze. He heard it perfectly right out of Derek's mouth. She was his world – he needed to go be with her right now, and hopefully, that would make everything better.. it just had to… she couldn't.. be…

He couldn't bring himself to finish that thought. It wasn't even an option.

The room suddenly became eerily quiet. Derek had passed out.

"Oh, God, no… Derek! Derek, WAKE UP!"

He smacked him gently on the cheek a few times, with no response.

"Damn it!"

The only thing he could do was sit and wait, checking Derek's breathing rate periodically. It gradually turned back to normal, the color in his face returning along with it. After watching him stabilize, Tyler shook him and called his name. It worked.

Derek sat up groggy as ever, placing a hand on his chest to try to calm his furiously beating heart. He looked around the room once before settling his eyes on Tyler.

Tyler checked his pulse. A bit fast, but perfectly normal considering the circumstances.

"What am I, doing.. on the floor?" He said quietly, standing himself up. His first attempts at steps didn't work so well, his legs completely out of strength. He fell against Tyler, who helped him to sit down on the couch.

Derek leaned against the back of it and looked at the coffee table. He spotted a picture of he and Angie, and everything immediately came flooding back into his head.

"A-Angie!" he said, beginning to panic once more.

"Derek…" Tyler said in a serious tone. He placed both hands on his shoulders, turning Derek towards himself. "Listen to me. You have to relax so I can talk to you, okay?"

He inhaled a deep, shuttering breath. "O- Okay…"

"Leslie called me. Angie was getting ready but needed something from the store, so she got in her car and left. After about 45 minutes, she still wasn't back, so Leslie called to check on what was taking so long and make sure she wasn't coming back here, but some guy answered. He asked if Leslie was a next of kin, and she lied to him and said yes to figure out what was going on. The man said that he had witnessed her get T-boned by a silver Corvette that was leaving Hope Hospital… when he got there, she was still alive, but completely in shock, and bleeding pretty bad. That's all I know man – I'm sure she's okay… but. I really… don't know. She got the least of it though – apparently the other driver flew out into the street."

Derek dropped from sad to dejected. He closed his eyes, picturing her face. She was alive. She had to be… he couldn't live without her…

Suddenly, Derek's brain triggered.

"…flew out into the street…"

He instantly flashed back to when he and Angie first started working together. The child he had saved had flown out into the street as well, and he had barely gotten there in time to save him… at least this time, there must be doctor on ca-..

"Dr. Kasal drives a silver Corvette…" Derek said, stone faced.

"Oh man, you're right! We should get down there!"

Derek grabbed his keys and chased Tyler out of the door, silently praying for Angie to be alive, and Dr. Kasal to have not been the one driving the Corvette. Unbeknownst to him, only **one** of those prayers would be answered, but it would be a little while until he knew which one.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Derek and Tyler zoomed into the Hope Hospital parking lot in Derek's Jeep.

"Here, man, I'll park it… just, go find her!"

Derek slammed the door and ran through the automatic doors. He stopped for a moment to take in the atmosphere of the ER – it was pure chaos.

Nurses were running everywhere, barking orders. Some were on their cell phones, leaving frantic messages to doctors who could not be reached. "Yes, I paged him – I paged him 10 times already, I don't know why he's not calling!" "There's got to be someone we can call… he's going to die!" "Quick – someone, call Caduceus! Maybe they could send someone over!" "No, its too far away! It'll be too late!"

His heart sank into his stomach. It was Dr. Kasal, all right…

"Derek!" a voice screeched.

He turned his head sharply to the right, coming face to face with Cybil Myers-Kasal, his former Caduceus co-worker. She had moved to Hope Hospital to be closer to home, and a year later, ended up marrying the head surgeon – her former college sweetheart, and the man who's life was at stake today. She was a wreck which he could see as she ran towards him, sobbing uncontrollably. She embraced him in a giant hug, pulling away quickly to talk.

"D-Derek… we c-can't get ahold of any of our other doctors… Greg was it for the day.. He's dying, Derek! I know you're here to check on Angie, but do something, please! You're all we've got!"

He was definitely in no shape to operate, but sometimes, you don't have a choice.

"Tyler will be here in a minute, he's parking the car. He'll act as my assistant, and we'll start operating. All we need is the briefing…" Derek said solemnly, secretly wishing he could be attending to Angie instead.

"Oh, Derek! Thank you!" Cybil said, sobbing once more. She took his hand and led him to where Greg was, the room already prepped for the operation.

"Cybil…" he said, his heart racing. She turned to look at him, chocolate eyes still brimming with tears. "Is… is she, alive?"

She quickly looked at the ground.

"Derek… I honestly don't know."

He nodded, trying with every ounce of strength to hold back his tears… unsuccessfully. His former coworker grabbed him tightly, both of them sobbing in each other's grasps.

"If she... died, I almost guarantee I would've heard about it… I heard someone say that someone was being transported awhile ago, but I didn't hear to where, or if they were even talking about her... I'm sure she's alright Derek, she just probably needs you right now."

This pierced Derek's heart like a pick axe. She needed him, and he felt like he was lightyears away. He thought of her crying his name in her bed, and he had to stop thinking about it all together before he completely lost it. Part of him wanted to run from the OR and scour the hospital for her, but his mentor's life was at stake. He had taught him so much, and while he had saved him once, he knew that he would have to do it once more. Still, he couldn't help but get her out of his mind…

A warmth rolled through his body as he thought of her. Her smile, her face, her laugh… they were all things that would never leave his mind, imprinted there and in his heart for the rest of his life. He knew that no matter where she was, her heart and her love were one with his, and that would never change. He pulled a shaking hand up from his side, placing it on his chest. She was with him; for he carried her with him wherever he went, and while he pondered running away, he knew inside that she want for him to do this.

He removed the watch she gave him from his wrist, running his fingers over the engraving. A single tear dropped onto the top of his hand.

"I'll see you soon Angie… I promise"

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Cybil began the briefing.

Its 6:13 p.m. on Sunday the 21st. Greg was in a hurry to get out to lunch. As he raced out of the parking lot, he didn't know that the traffic light was broken, so the whole intersection had a green light, and he collided with another car. Just leaving the parking lot, he hadn't buckled his seatbelt yet, so when he hit, the glass broke, and he flew out through the open windshield and into the street… Her voice buckled, this was more difficult than any of them could imagine.

She gently took Derek's hand. "I don't know what's wrong – we already had one of our interns take out all the glass pieces on the exterior, but there's still something not right – he's losing blood and vitals fast…"

"Derek…" she said softly.

He turned his face to her.

"Greg means everything to me…"

"And Angie to me, Cybil… she was hopefully going to be my fiancée today…" he bowed his head slightly, feeling a small burn at the corners of his eyes.

Cybil's eyes widened in shock, but quickly glazed over with a pained look. They were together in this – both fighting to save the ones that they loved.

"I'll make you a deal. While you and Tyler get prepped, I'll have someone else administer the anesthesia, and I'll go get you a condition on Angie."

Derek filled with hope. "You would do that?"

Cybil grinned. "Of course. You've saved me and my husband once, and I need you to help us one last time, Derek… you can do this" She squeezed his hand. "But, I know saving him means putting yourself on the back burner right now, so I'll do anything you need me to… I owe you our lives, Derek." Cybil choked up once more.

"Its okay, Cybil – just go get us a condition on Angie, and we'll save him. I promise" said Tyler.

She nodded solemnly, glancing back once more at her lifeless husband laying on the operating table, the steady beep of his vital stability slowing. And with that, she walked from the room. 

-------------------------------------------------

Derek hadn't bothered to change out of his suit, he just threw multiple layers of protectors over it, not caring if it got stained or not.

He and Tyler walked from the prep room, sterilized and ready to go. Cybil wasn't back yet with a condition on Angie, but with Greg's vitals lingering around 38, they knew there wasn't much time left.

"You're the bravest guy I know, Derek Stiles… I know it hurts like hell, but you can do this. I've been praying for her the whole time – she'll make it man, I promise."

Derek and Tyler exchanged a solemn nod, before entering the operating room. Taking their places on either side of Dr. Kasal's body, they locked eyes once more.

"I'm starting the---"

"No, no, no, man… none of that boring "I'm starting the operation" crap."

Derek looked at him, stunned.

"Do you have something better in mind?"

Tyler smiled.

"How about…"

"LET'S ROCK!"

It really wasn't the time or place at all, but Derek couldn't help but laugh at his best friend.

-------------------------------------------------

"We need to figure this out quick.. he's losing vitals fast – that could point to some major internal bleeding…" Tyler stated. "The intern already removed all the outer glass shards, but there could be one embedded deeper than they thought… maybe it broke off, or maybe it just entered into him in a weird way…" he trailed off.

Derek nodded. "I agree completely. I'm going to ultrasound over all the sutures and see if I can see anything that he missed in removal."

Tyler rolled the ultrasound machine over from the corner of the room, turning it on and handing the sensor over to Derek. He smeared gel on each suture, gently swiping the ultrasound back and forth over it. There was a cut under his ear, one on his forehead and cheek, three on his chest, four large ones on his back, two more on his left arm, and three on his right. Derek had checked all of them thoroughly, failing to find a thing. He gave the ultrasound back to Tyler, frustrated.

"Alright, we need to go to plan B… how are his vitals?"

Derek glanced at the screen. They had dropped again, settling now between 30 and 31. The two surgeons stood dumbfounded, trying to figure out how to save the famed surgeon, husband, and new father.

Tyler took out a small flashlight from his array of tools and opened the doctor's eyes one at a time, shining the light on them. "Shining the light produces constriction in the right eye, and dilation in the left – something must be putting pressure on the Oculomotor nerve…"

"You're absolutely right, but what?" Derek asked, looking up at him.

"Wait!" Tyler said. "On the count of three, we roll him. One, Two, Three!"

They rolled Dr. Kasal onto his stomach, noticing what they had both missed. A giant sutured laceration stretched across the crown of his skull, hidden by tufts of dark brown hair. They reactivated the ultrasound machine and placed the sensor over the cut.

"What do you see?" Derek asked Tyler.

He stopped slightly, stunned at his own answer. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Its pitch black…"

Derek had a chill race through his spine. Pitch black on an ultrasound only pointed to one thing…

…A hell of a lot of blood.

Derek outstretched his hand. "Scalpel…"

He cut off all the wires holding the suture shut, and cut back into the flesh. Immediately, blood started to pour out.

"Drain, quick!"

Derek sucked up all the excess blood, noticing its source.

"Oh, MAN!"

"Stupid intern…" Derek mumbled to himself.

"Forceps"

Very cautiously, Derek removed a shard of glass embedded in the occipital lobe of Dr. Kasal's brain. He smeared antibiotic gel on the laceration, and mopped up all the excess blood. He and Tyler watched as vitals rebounded almost immediately. Tyler gave them a little help, injecting a few shots of stabilizer.

They waited a few minutes to make sure they had covered all the bases, and then closed up the final wound. Derek finished wrapping his head with bandages, and with Tyler's help, lifted him onto a gurney. They motioned to the nurses, who took it from there.

No sooner did Derek walk through the door to the operating room than Cybil jumped him, thanking him profusely.

"Cybil, whoa! I've got blood on me here!"

He quickly stopped as he noticed that she had a gown on herself. He hugged her back, being careful not to touch her with his hands, meanwhile telling her that everything would be okay.

"Derek – you saved him, you saved.. our family"

Family.

The word make Derek think of his family – Angie. He still hadn't heard her fate.

She continued.. "How can I ever repay you for this?" she said, still sobbing slightly.

He pulled back. Quickly removing his gloves and multiple coverings, he turned towards Cybil, silently waiting for the answer to the favor she had promised.

"Cybil…" he said, whispering. "Please tell me she's okay.."

Cybil paused for a second, trying to catch her breath from crying before giving him the news. She settled herself down, exhaling one last time. She wanted to make sure he heard her perfectly clear.

She stared at him. For all he had been through, he still looked remarkably handsome. His hair was only a little messy, his tie was slightly loosened, the top button on his shirt was undone, and his face was pale and drained from the roller coaster of emotions he had been on over the course of the day. He stared at her with his shining brown eyes, holding a world full of pain inside them. With her words, that pain would either multiply, or fade away – but he honestly didn't know what to expect.

She pulled him into another hug. Cybil had become like his second mother over the course of them knowing one another – leaving him to wonder whatever happened to the nickname "Iron Vixen"…

As she released once more, she looked at him.

"Angie, is…"

* * *

Oh gosh, guys. I feel so bad doing this, but I'm very very sorry... 

Although, I have seen worse cliffhangers... ahem ::points finger at all of you::

We have really never seen Tyler operate, so I figured he had a cool catch phrase like Derek does.

Aw, Dr. Kasal is a daddy. Awww... who seconds my motion of starting the "I heart the kasal men" fan club?

What a good guy Derek is - putting off his worries to save the world. I hope you don't think that he's being a jerk and deserting her completely... you'll see why...

...in the next chapter!

See ya:)

PS: This chapter was for you, Lady of Caduceus. I was going to put in an operation, but I've never been good at writing that kinda stuff. So, I researched, and here it is -- thanks for the advice!


	8. Chapter 8

Hello, all :)

I have returned - and despite a few mixed reviews about the last chapter, I'm sure you all will feel differently...

Its not the last chapter - I couldn't bring myself to finish this yet, so I split it into two. Besides, 5100 words was a lot for one chapter. Gah.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Angie, is.." 

Time stood still. He watched Cybil try to regain her composure to talk to him, but she had a hard time. This was an overwhelming time for her; and while Derek understood this, he was tired of beating around the bush. He had to know if Angie was okay, or, even alive, for that matter.

Cybil's breathing slowed. "I wanted to make sure I calmed myself down, because I want to make sure that you can understand me perfectly. When I cry, I can't talk, and I didn't want you to miss a word."

Derek nodded. "I understand – Its just, the first thing I had to do instead of seeing her was save Greg – now that he's recovering, I need you to tell me how she is, Cybil… please"

Sorrow collected in her heart for him. He was always putting other people before himself, sacrificing his time and happiness for people who had no one else to turn to. Now, he was the one that needed help. She grabbed his hand, and looked him straight in the eye. This was the news that could make or break him.

"I talked with her, Derek."

His eyes widened. "She's alive?"

Cybil disregarded that comment. "I talked with her when I went up there. She was extremely weak, but asked me to give you a message…"

Derek tensed. He wanted so badly to hold Angie in his arms right now, but he stayed put, curiosity about this 'message' getting the better of him.

"She told me to tell you that she's so proud of you for what you did here today, and that she wouldn't have had it any other way. She said that she loved you more than anything else in the world, Derek. She hoped that after all this, you know that no matter what, you'll always have her heart… only you."

He fought back tears as Cybil continued on.

"And then, she said that she really wished that you could be there to hold her, because she is scared, but knows everything will be alright…"

She stopped.

"Derek…that was the last thing she said before she…"

"Cybil!"

A nurse opened the door to the prep room, where Cybil was talking to the doctor who had saved their head surgeon.

Derek Stiles was never usually one to yell… well, ever, unless it was at Tyler. But, he had been cut off from hearing the news for the last time.

"Can't you see we're having a CONVERSATION, here?! Get out!" he pointed his finger out the door, eyes suggesting that she follow the direction in which he motioned, but she stayed put.

"Dr. Myers-Kasal?"

Cybil turned to the terrified nurse. Derek gripped the sides of his head with both hands, trying not to lose his temper. He turned his back to them, inhaling slowly to calm himself.

"Its Greg – he's waking up, and asking for you…"

Cybil's hands flew to her mouth.. "Oh, tell him, I'll be there as fast as I can! This'll just take a minute."

The nurse exited the room, keeping a close eye on Dr. Stiles as she did so. Before Cybil could turn around, she knew that Derek was crying behind her. As she turned to look at him, he began to talk.

"This is my three year anniversary with Angie, and here I am, not even knowing if she's alive! I jumped into action to save someone important to me, abandoning the woman I love while she's scared and alone! I, I just, can't take this anymore! Cybil! Tell me, PLEASE? That was the last t-thing she said, before, she what?! PLEASE?!" He grabbed both of her shoulders and looked at her, before he hung his head. Slowly, he lowered himself onto the ground. Everything had built up so much that he was losing it. Cybil knelt down on the floor in front of him.

"Derek, listen to me…" Her tone was soothing, but he knew somehow that as soon as she began to talk, it would get interrupted again… so, he didn't expect for her to actually tell him what was up.

But she did.

"Derek…"

He looked at her, eyes full of tears.

She smirked. "That nurse is an idiot… she came in at the worst possible time, and I apologize. But, I didn't mean to scare you like that, and I'm so sorry. Nobody understands what you've done today more than I do… so, I'm glad I get to be the one to tell you this."

Derek sat up quickly, afraid to let himself gather hope – but he did anyway, and for good reason.

"Angie is fine, Derek… she has some pretty bad injuries, but she's alive. I was going to tell you that the message was straight from her mouth, and it was the last thing the said before she _fell asleep…_ She tried so hard to stay awake until you came, but when I told her what was going on, she told me to tell you to just wake her up when you got there… its been a long, hard day for her, Derek… I'm so so sorry I scared you."

She watched as the pain faded from his face, immediately replaced with a grin of enormous proportion. He quickly realized how much of an idiot he looked like for crying, and started to chuckle. Turning his attention towards Cybil, he noticed that she was beginning to tear up.

"I'm so sorry for all of this, Derek – but, I can never thank you enough."

They embraced one another once more, and rose to their feet.

She wiped her eyes gently, and used her sleeve to get his as well. Straightening his shirt and tie, which still hung loosely around his neck, she smiled at his handsomeness once more before opening the door for him.

"I'll talk to Hoffman – expect a week's paid vacation for what you did today. But for now…"

"…Go get yourself a fiancée, Derek."

They both smiled before he walked from the room, breaking into a small sprint. A loud screech was suddenly heard as he came skidding to a halt – his jacket was in the car, and the ring was in the pocket. He dashed into the waiting room, where Tyler stood holding the jacket, smiling.

"I heard the news man… good luck.."

While Derek had wanted to kill Tyler many times during this whole ordeal, he realized that he had never had such a good friend in his life.

On the way back through the halls, he stopped in front of recovery room three, peering through the glass. Dr. Kasal was sitting up in bed, Cybil lying next to him, her body turned in towards his, his arm around her. On Greg's lap lied their infant son, being hugged by the both of them. They looked at their son and back to one another, where he gently kissed her before pulling her back into his arms.

Derek smiled to himself. He couldn't wait to be a father… or more importantly, have Angie as his wife. Those are two things that would make his life complete…

He smiled once more, before walking towards the elevator. Boarding it, he took a deep breath. She had been through a lot today, and he didn't want to burden her with anything else – especially if she didn't want to accept his proposal at the time.

He was perfectly content saving it for another time, especially because the setting was oh so unromantic… it only mattered that he would get to hold her in his arms again. And as the elevator reached the sixth floor, he walked off, knowing she was just seconds away.

--------------------------------------------------------

Room 609:

Here it was. Only a door separated the two of them now.

Derek placed a hand on the cool metal handle and pushed downward, pressing his weight against the heavy wooden door. It was dead quiet in the room, making him second guess as to whether she was even in there. The door opened into a square room with only one bed. The bed was against the left wall, and upon opening the door, only the foot of the bed could be seen, and it looked empty…. at first. He peeked his head around the door, as a giant load of relief washed over him – she was there, sleeping quietly… **Alive.**

He entered the room, closing the door softly behind him. Hands in his pants pockets, he stood next to her bed, head slightly cocked to the left, staring down at her. For what seemed like the billionth time that day, a single tear slowly slid down his cheek as he looked at her. **Curly** blonde hair swirled around her face, billowing on and over her shoulders, coming to a gradual end just underneath her breasts. She hated taking that much time to curl it – but, he knew she did it for him… God did he love her…

Derek smiled – even in a hospital gown, full of bandages, she was the most beautiful woman that had ever existed. The smile faded from his lips as he continued to stare at her. Never in his life did he come so close to losing something so important… that was a pain unknown to him since the passing of his father – his greatest mentor, and best friend. But she was here now… everything would be okay, as she always promised it would.

Something shiny caught his eye as he turned to look at it. A navy blue sequined dress hung from a hanger on the bathroom door, stained with blood in a few places, but only carrying a few very small rips. Sadness washed over him as he gazed at it – he was secretly glad that she wasn't wearing it, because he knew it would've taken every last breath he had away.

He paced back to the side of the bed, two feet away from where he had first entered the room. Derek sat down on the edge of the bed, level with her stomach. He pulled his right knee up onto the bed, allowing him to turn himself toward her, meanwhile examining the injuries she had sustained.

Most noticeable was the giant purple bump on her forehead. It was bleeding slightly, as could be seen by the dark red that stained the band-aid on top of it. She had many bad lacerations down her arms as well, each bandaged and wrapped with gauze. From the V-neck gown she wore, he could see her chest was badly bruised in a crescent shape, which must've occurred after direct contact with her steering wheel. Tiny bruises formed all around that, pointing to the fact that she had been hit by the airbag, which most likely, was why she went into shock. Derek had glanced at her chart quickly before walking in the room, seeing something about glass removal.. "It must have flown in to her window, from when Dr. Kasal's windshield shattered... he did hit her on the driver's side, after all..." he thought to himself. He turned his attention back over to the dress once more, looking at all the different stains on it, proceeding to line them up to her body. He would wait to look at the ones on her legs, because they were covered with blankets, but there was one more place he wanted to check out that was in sight.

He reached around to her back, and pulled the edge of the gown to the front of her body, exposing her midsection and stomach. On her left side, three inches from her belly button, was a massive bandage, which, from the looks of it, needed to be changed soon. His heart sank – she was so brave to have gone through all of this alone, and he knew it… At that moment, Derek Stiles made himself a promise that for the rest of his life, if she ever had to go through any pain again, he would be right there to hold her hand.

The second-to-last thing he wanted to do right now was wake her – he knew she was so tired… but the absolute last thing he wanted was to go another second without being able to hold her and tell her how much he loved her.

He thought back to what Cybil had said.

"…she wanted you to wake her up once you were done…"

So he did exactly that. He brushed a few of her gorgeous wispy curls from her face, exposing it in its entirety. Studying himself on the railing of the headboard, he leaned in toward her, kissing her lips softly once, then again, then her cheek once more. He watched as she stirred gently, her eyelids fighting to open themselves – but they did, and she began to cry instantly.

"D-Derek!" she said in a sobbing whisper, covering her mouth with the hand which held her IV. She sobbed behind it, struggling to try to sit up. He gently wrapped his hands around her back, checking for any wounds before he pulled her up and into his arms. He combed one hand through her hair, holding the crown of her head in the palm of his hand as the other arm gripped her back diagonally. Derek rocked Angie very gently, hushing her quietly.

"Its okay, Angie – I'm here now… for good, I promise I'm not going to leave you ever again…"

She pulled away from him, emerald eyes drowning in tears. He reached up a hand, wiping the stray ones off of her porcelain face, eyes never breaking their lock with hers.

"Derek, I-I was so scared… and I'm so sorry"

He looked at her in disbelief.

"You're sorry? _I'm _sorry! The only thing I wanted to do when I came here was be able to make sure that you were okay – to hold you, to be here with you, and I deserted you… I feel awful…"

Her tone turned serious. "Derek, you know that if I would've been downstairs at that time that I would've made you do exactly what you did. I know you – I know it must've been hard to focus, but you saved him, Derek… The only thing that happened to me, was, well yeah, I was scared and alone for a little while, but I'm _alive_, Derek… who knows if Dr. Kasal would be right now if you would've come to see me first."

Even after such a traumatizing experience, Derek was impressed at just how much sense Angie was making.

"…I, know, Ang… its just that… you mean everything to me. I thought for awhile, that, I might never get to see you again…" He closed his eyes, exhaling. "I did what I had to do – but, you never ever left my mind. Not for one second."

Another tear ran down her face as she looked at him lovingly. She hated to see him so distraught, but he really truly did love her… that, she was happy to see.

He scooped her up into his arms again, kissing her forehead.

"But, we can talk about all that stuff later. All that matters is that I'm here now, and that you're okay. Nothing else really makes a difference…"

She released herself from his grasp, nodding in agreement. It was at that time she noticed how handsome he looked.

Angie rested her back against the pillows on the bed, taking him in. She absolutely loved him in that outfit – and that was her favorite tie…

"You look… so, sexy!" she said, grinning at him.

He blushed. "Stop it, really… its nothing…" his gaze diverted toward the ground, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Nothing?" she said, the smile still on her mouth. "Those must've been some plans you had for us tonight, huh?"

Her face suddenly turned somber. She looked at her ruined dress and sighed softly.

"Yeah… too bad I had to go and ruin our night together…" she said, looking down at her hands.

"Hey, hey, hey…" he replied, lifting her chin to look at him. "Never – I told you… you're okay, that's all that matters… we can always change our plans, but I could never replace you."

She sat up slowly again, and placing both hands on his cheeks, kissed him once more.

"Help me get up?" she said, sticking her hand out towards him.

Derek smiled and stood up, pulling the blankets off of her legs. Holding onto her hand, he used his other hand to gently pick up her cut-up legs at the ankles, pulling them off the bed until she was seated comfortably on the edge. He released her legs, feet dangling inches from the ground as she swung them back and forth a few times – happy to be (semi) out of bed.

He took a seat next to her, holding her hand. He kissed her cheek once more, watching her giggle slightly. Her blonde curls were still perfectly intact, and he loved them more than anything.

"You made curls for me…" he said, watching as she cocked her head on its side, smiling.

"You wore your pink tie!" she replied, tracing her fingers over the silk gently.

They giggled back and forth for a few seconds, before Angie broke into conversation once more.

"So, now that they're ruined for awhile, what special plans did you make for us tonight?"

Derek froze. She had caught him completely off guard – although, he should've seen it coming a mile away… Angie always hated being out of the loop.

He glanced at the floor, a flash of sadness sweeping over his face. It didn't go unnoticed by her, as she quickly tried to remedy the situation.

"Oh, Derek… it's okay, you don't have to tell me…"

He stopped. Should he? Should he tell her what was going to happen tonight?

Derek sat up completely straight, and turned his glance toward his very remorseful looking girlfriend, whose look turned to confusion as she watched him.

"You mean, you honestly have no idea what we were going to do tonight? Leslie didn't tell you?"

"I thought she wasn't supposed to…"

"Well, you're right, she wasn't… but I kinda figured…"

"Gossip queen?"

"Yeah…" he replied, smiling. "Her boyfriend is just as bad…"

She laughed. "I know it – those two are ridiculous sometimes… I'm surprised neither of them told you about the watch."

He stopped. Sliding back the fabric of his jacket, he exposed it to let her see. She smiled, before telling him that it fit him just right… Derek kissed his girlfriend, thanking her for it, before pausing once more.

"You know…" he started, his heart beginning to race. "I have an anniversary present for you, as well."

Angie lit up. "I LOVE presents!" she said, grinning from ear to ear. "What is it?!"

Derek chuckled at her… he couldn't help but not – she was adorable in every single way.

"Okay, I'll give it to you… but first, it takes a little bit of explanation."

She paused in her excitement, slightly surprised by that statement, but curious as to what he could mean.

Derek turned his body toward her, taking both of her hands gently in his. He was surprised his heart hadn't just given up on him – it was more of a gentle hum now rather than individual beats. Suddenly, he locked eyes with her, and she gave him one of those smiles that melted him from the inside out. He felt all of his nervousness wash away with that one look, knowing in his heart that he was right before: all he had to do was look at her, and he could find the words.

"Angie…" he started.

This was it – the moment he had been waiting for.

* * *

Aah! One more cliffhanger -- I'm sorryyyyyyyyyyyyy, but, I have to run for now - I've procrastinated long enough on stuff I have to do before I go back to school. Yeep. 

Hope you enjoyed it :) See, she's fine. You can exhale.

Now - will he actually do it?

See you next time!!


	9. Chapter 9

Hellooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very sorry for the cliff -- I went on vacation for the weekend...

Speaking of, Happy Labor Day! (If, in fact, that's something you wish people... it got me out of work, so I say its a happy day)

I am having a really hard time finishing this story. Its already done, but I don't want it to be, so I'm splitting it as much as I possibly can. One more chapter after this is all that remains, and maybe a bonus (??).

But let's focus on the point here:

**If Derek does in fact work up the nerve to ask her...**

**...will she say yes?**

Read on, and enjoy :)

* * *

"Angie..." he started 

This was it - the moment he had been waiting for.

He squeezed both of her hands slightly, looking into her eyes as he began to speak.

"You are perfect to me in every way imaginable, and I've spent the last few months trying to find something for you that would show you just how much you mean to me… It was hard, but I finally found what I was looking for..."

She looked at him with a smile on her face, her eyes trying to decipher what he could possibly be talking about. 

"This isn't how I wanted this to happen – well, at all… and I've spent the last week trying to make every detail perfect… but, I realized today that as long as you and I are together, nothing else makes a damn bit of difference…"

Derek exhaled and then smiled, beginning his explanation.

"You are, my life, Ang – my world, my every happiness and joy scooped up into one amazing human being. When I thought today that I might not ever get to hold you, kiss you, or touch you again, I realized that I had never been that scared in my entire life… because, well... I need you. I need you by my side, every day... to love, and to love me. Even at times where I feel like I want to stop trying, your beautiful face is what keeps me going every day of my life… you're a part of me – always have been, always will be…"

He watched as tears started to spill from her eyes once more, feeling some wetness come from his own.

--------------------------

Outside, unbeknownst to them both, Tyler and Leslie stood, wondering what was going on in the room. One part of the vertical blinds was slightly askew and produced a small crack that could be seen through, and Tyler looked in at the two of them.

"I can barely see anything, but they're sitting together talking… I think he's doing it!" he said in an excited hush.

Just then, Angie's nurse, the same one that had interrupted Derek and Cybil's conversation earlier, clipboard in hand, began to walk towards her room. Tyler and Leslie shared a glance, realizing that she was majorly going to interrupt Derek if they didn't intervene… and Tyler wasn't about to let that happen to his best friend again.

"Stop!" Leslie said, trying to keep her voice down. The nurse had stopped right before putting her hand on the doorknob. "Can I help you?" she asked quizzically.

Leslie walked over and stood in front of the door, blocking the nurse.

"You can't go in there."

"And, may I ask why not?"

"Because – something important is going on in there, and if you walk in, you're going to ruin it… and trust me, you wouldn't want to do that."

The nurse glared at her… "I'm going to have to call security if you don't move, now!"

"That's fine! And while you're at it, call Cybil Myers-Kasal up here too – I'll make sure she has you fired!"

"Whoa, Leslie – settle down.." Tyler said, stepping between the two women. He turned his attention back to the nurse. "They've had a really rough day – it's their anniversary, and he's in there right now asking her to marry him."

Tyler had expected that she would lighten up and give them time, but instead, she looked wildly unimpressed. "Excuse me, you two, but I need to replace Miss Thompson's bandages right now… I don't have time for this" she said sternly. She reached around Leslie, grabbing for the door handle.

Leslie knew she had to act fast before that stupid twit ruined the whole thing… for the second time that day.

She dragged her a couple rooms away by the arm, making sure that Angie and Derek wouldn't hear the impending commotion.

"Take your hands OFF of me!" she said, thrashing around madly. When Leslie didn't let her grip go, the nurse instead took the clipboard she held in her right hand, and swung it at Leslie's head. When she missed, the nurse rolled her hand into a fist, and tried punching Leslie's head to get her off of her. She ducked in time, and now, was pretty angry. Tyler looked on at this, worried – he had only seen Les lose her temper one time over the course of their relationship, and it did not turn out well at all.

Leslie turned and looked the nurse in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, but now I have no choice…"

Leslie shoved the heel of her hand up and under the woman's jaw, uppercutting her in a split second. She dropped to the ground, and Tyler's mouth dropped into an 'O', before he chortled twice in absolute shock and amazement. It was just the diversion they needed, as other nurses quickly rushed to her side. Security guards flew around the corner – one of the nurses overhearing the fight had called them, _and_ Cybil, who had rushed upstairs immediately. When she saw the nurse who had wrecked their moment before lying on the ground, she dismissed the security guards away from Leslie, giving her a small thumbs up and a smile in the process. They helped the nurse away from her assailant, but she shot a look over her shoulder, mouth full of blood.

Tyler Chase hugged his girlfriend, still laughing.

"This is why I love you…"

---------------------------

Even though they would had no idea what had just happened until much later, Derek was free to continue talking…

"I've only cried three times in my entire life. The day my father died, the day you first told me you loved me, and today – the day I realized that I may never get to ask you to spend the rest of your life with me…"

The smile faded from Angie's lips, as she sat up, looking deep into his eyes – she wasn't positive, but she started to tremble thinking about where he was taking this. Her eyes remained locked with his as he stood up in front of her, still holding both of her hands. Looking down at her, he continued on.

"Angie… I want to spend forever with you by my side. I want you to be my wife, the mother of my children… I want to grow old with you, because nothing else matters in my life unless I get to share it with you…"

She started to shake uncontrollably. This had to be a dream.

Still standing in front of her as she sat on the edge of the bed, he smiled at her, wiping away her tears once more. He bent his top half over, putting his face eye-level with hers, as he whispered the next part.

"But mostly…" he continued. "I want to be able to devote my life to making you as happy as you make me every single day I'm alive…"

Oh yeah. It was happening.

She watched in complete shock as Derek lowered himself onto his right knee, still holding her hands. She pulled the right one from his grasp, covering her mouth and nose tightly with it, trying to hold in the sobs. She wanted to remember this forever, not cry through the entire thing…

He smiled at her. "Its okay, Ang… catch your breath."

She did as she was told, calming down considerably, but still crying.

Derek took his free hand and reached into the inner breast pocket of his jacket, pulling out a small blue box. He watched in slight amusement as Angie _really_ started to freak, half laughing, half crying like crazy. She shut her eyes, mentally trying to gain some composure – she couldn't believe this was happening… it, couldn't be happening.

"Look at me..." he said sweetly.

Her eyes popped open, still full of tears. She blinked a few times to clear her vision, his smiling face coming into view. Her view shot once more toward the box. This was it, all right… it really was going to happen.

"Angela Thompson…" he said, looking into her eyes.

"Y-Yes, Derek?" She couldn't believe how bad she was shaking…

A small creak was heard as he popped open the blue box, revealing her engagement ring.

He wiped a tear away from his own eye as he watched her reaction.

Her eyes lit up, followed by another round of quiet happy sobs. "Oh, my God…" she repeated softly, over and over. She hung her head down, and closed her eyes once more, shaking her head back and forth. It was the most beautiful thing she had seen in her life…

They went back and forth, trading sniffles and tears. He chuckled at her softly, before starting again.

"Please, look at me..."

She picked her head up, turning her gaze toward the ceiling, face serious, as she wiped the barrage of tears off of her face. She exhaled one last time, before looking back at his gorgeous brown eyes. His face turned serious as he said it one last time.

"Angela Thompson…" he said, squeezing her hand gently. She took in a few shuttering breaths, holding the last one as he asked a question she never thought she'd hear.

"…Will you marry me?"

She started to giggle quietly, still half sobbing.. She took a deep breath – it was important that he heard her answer clearly, not in between sobs.

A huge grin broke across her face, as she squeezed his hand

"Yes, Derek… Of c-course, I'll marry you"

His face immediately lit up, as he began to laugh quietly out of happiness. She watched, still crying, as he took the ring out of the box and put it on the third finger of the hand that he had been squeezing the whole time. It fit perfectly – and it was more amazing than she could've ever imagined it to be. She held the hand out in front of her, trying to look at it through tears – he had some amazing taste. Angie turned her view back to him, while trying to control her uncontrollable shaking.

He stood up straight, wiping the last of the tears away from their faces, meanwhile smiling harder than she had ever seen him smile before. She yanked him down by his pink necktie, and kissed his lips over and over, in between smiles and frequent attempts to catch her breath. Derek pulled away from her and slid a hand underneath her knees, the other behind her back, where he lifted her gently into his arms. They exchanged tearful smiles once more, still giggling and sniffling, before settling down just a bit. He sat down on the edge of the bed with her in his lap, and brushed her hair out of her face. They smiled at each other one more time, before he kissed his new fiancée as passionately as ever for the very first time.

He pulled away, still unable to wipe the goofy smile off of his face, but that changed as she made her next move, smacking him in the arm.

"I can't, believe, you pulled one over… on ME!! ME! You can't keep a secret to save your life!" she said, laughing as she watched the smile return to his face once more.

He was proud of himself – they were engaged, and he had managed to spare Tyler's life in the process… it wasn't such a bad day, after all.

Angie turned serious, looking up at him, her green eyes shining.

"I love you, more than you'll ever know, Derek Stiles…" she said, stroking his cheek.

His heart skipped a beat.

"I love you too… almost Mrs. Stiles…" he said, a chuckle escaping his lips.

She giggled as well, "Mrs. Stiles… I love it!!"

Hugging him tightly, she leaned against his chest, before pulling her left arm out from around his back. She outstretched her hand in front of her again, staring at her anniversary present. The giant square diamond looked nearly flawless, and she loved that the band was made of little round diamonds on the front half – they were so pretty, and the perfect compliment to the rock.

"Derek.. it's, absolutely, perfect…" she said, still in awe at how big and shiny it was. "I couldn't have picked out a better one myself…" He grinned as he wrapped his arms around her, watching her admire it. Every direction she turned her hand, another part of it sparkled like mad; leaving her to realize that no dress in the world could make her feel like as big of a princess as she did right now. She sat up, and kissed him once more.

"Love you forever…"

His mind triggered.

"Oh, Ang, I almost forgot."

He took the ring off her finger, a slight protesting gasp escaping her.

"Hey!" she said, growing mildly upset as he laughed at her.

"Don't worry – you'll get it back.. I promise."

Derek picked her up, scooting back farther onto the bed, and placed her bottom in between his legs. He rested the top of his head against hers, mindful of the bump, as he spun the inside of the ring around to reveal the engraving.

He heard her sniffle. And after that, she awwed.

"…No way! How did you—"

"I didn't.. I had it done before you gave me my watch… I thought it was pretty awesome, too.."

Derek grabbed Angie's hand gently off of her lap with his left hand, using his right to slide the ring back on her finger. She inhaled deeply again, looking at it once more, before turning her attention back to him.

"Derek… we're… getting, married!" she said, a slight happy squeak protruding through her voice

He giggled. She always squeaked when she got real excited about something.

"I know – I can't wait…"

Derek paused, turning slightly serious.

"I love you. So much..."

She kissed him again.

"I love you too… Thank you for the best surprise of my life..."

He watched as a flash of playfulness danced across her eyes.

"…Now lets take a nap.."

Derek laughed, kissing her once more… she had read his mind. Well, almost – he secretly wanted to run through the hospital and yell it to everyone, but man was he tired… there was always later. They laid down together, finally engaged, against all the odds… and they fell asleep in the exact same position they did the night they first confessed their love.

…Except, Angie didn't sleep at all at first. She didn't want to stop looking at her ring..

But, Derek on the other hand, had passed out, just content from being able to hold her. She looked at the ring one last time, and then back at her soon-to-be husband. As she kissed him goodnight on his forehead, she realized that life couldn't get any better than this… everything was finally… _Perfect._

Before she had fallen asleep the first time, Angie found that she had a really hard time getting comfortable with all the cuts and bruises over her body… in fact, had it not been for the medication, she probably wouldn't be asleep at all. But the way he held her the second time, she couldn't feel a thing.

-------------------------------------------

Tyler and Leslie, still outside, were growing a bit impatient. Cybil was still with them, looking for something to do as Sidney had taken his nephew, and Greg got some much needed sleep.

"Seriously, Stiles – what the heck is taking you so long!" Tyler whined, tired of not knowing what was going on.

"Oh, Ty – they've had a rough day, leave him alone…" Leslie said to him, lightly smacking him in the arm.

"You know.." started Cybil, crossing her arms and smirking, "I wouldn't be at all surprised right now if they were asleep, and we were standing out here for no reason. They don't know we're here, remember?"

All three of them looked at each other. They hadn't thought the situation through very well at all.

"You know what…" Tyler said, rising to his feet. Cybil and Leslie watched as he walked back over to their window, trying to peek in through the same hole he had before.

"Yeah – they're laying together, but I don't know if they're asleep… I still can't see very well.."

He glanced at the ground before smiling.

"I'm going in…"

"No!" Leslie shrieked quietly. "I told you, leave them ALONE, or I'll hit you too.."

Cybil laughed out loud. "I'd listen to her, man.. she gave that nurse a pretty good beating…"

He stopped, turning around to face his girlfriend.

"Don't you want to see if Angie has a ring on her finger?"

Leslie stopped – it wasn't fair… he knew that after saying that, she had to know.

"Okay, but we're just going to peek in for a second… if they're asleep, we leave them that way."

Tyler nodded as the three of them made their way toward the room. He pushed down on the handle with the utmost care, swinging the door open slowly. Leslie walked in first, followed by Cybil, and then Tyler – each one trying their best to be completely silent.

"Oh, yeah… they're asleep, all right…" whispered Cybil, smiling again. "Not like I'm surprised about it…"

Leslie's hand flew up over her mouth, trying to stop herself from freaking out. She continuously pointed at them, eyes open as wide as they could possibly be.

Angie was facing the door on her side, with Derek curled up behind her. His left arm was sprawled gently across her rib cage, with her arm on top of it, her hand on top of his, their fingers laced. Tyler and Cybil saw what she was pointing at. Their left hands were the ones in plain view, and because Angie's hand was on top, her three friends could see the giant rock hugging her finger. Leslie jumped up and down quietly, trying not to scream out of excitement. Derek had done it – he and Angie were going to get married.

Taking Leslie's hand, Tyler led her out of the room with Cybil in tow. Cybil waved them goodbye as she went to check back in on her husband, and watched laughing as Leslie flipped in the hallway – unable to hide her happiness any longer. She threw her arms around Tyler, almost knocking him over, before she pulled away, trying to compose herself.

"Our best friends, are getting marrieeeeeeeeeeed!!!" she screeched quietly.

Tyler gently rubbed his left ear. It hurt when she did that.

He smiled, grabbing her hand, as he walked with her back to the elevator. They got on, leaning against the back rail together. She turned her head towards him.

"So, when are we going to get there?"

He looked straight forward, elevator doors still open. He knew that Stiles making this big life decision was going to end up with him playing catch-up.

Tyler smiled.

"Like I'm going to tell you that…"

She scoffed as he continued on, remembering that Derek still was out for revenge.

"…or anyone else for that matter."

Obviously, trying to look not guilty was really working, as Leslie's face turned annoyed with him. He tried to hide his smirk as the elevator doors closed.

"That reminds me…" he thought to himself.

"…I got a call from the jeweler earlier today. I should probably call him back."

A small 'ding' was heard as the doors closed completely, taking the two of them down to the bottom floor.

---------------------------------------------------------

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!

Excuse me whilest I go and do my happy dance...

::goes and dances, then runs back::

Well, he did it! GO DEREK... FINALLY!

There's one more chapter left, i will actually entitle it, epilogue, just because its probably a better epilogue than Atlus came up with...

...Jerks.

Anyway :) hope this makes you happy! See you in a little while for the next one!


	10. Epilogue

I'm pretty depressed that this story is coming to an end. But, this is my shot at a better epilogue than Atlus could ever make.

Yeah, suck it, Atlus!

::cowers in fear of them deciding not to release TC: New Blood:: Ok! I'm sorry!

This is (for now, and probably for good) the last chapter of my story. I thank everyone who has been around to review and follow the story from beginning to end. You have all made my very first FF a happy one, and I thank you loads for that.

Without further ado...

**The Epilogue to Keeping the Secret  
**

* * *

Leslie and Tyler got off the elevator, and walked hand in hand towards the car. A surprise would be coming to her as well, she just didn't know it yet.

Caduceus was down one doctor and one nurse, but everyone was elated to hear the great news... surprisingly, even Victor. Yes, even Victor. Well, maybe not elated... he smiled - good enough. Tyler and Leslie had shouted the news upon entering the floor where they all worked - ruining the surprise for Derek and Angie to tell themselves. But, in the words of Tyler, everyone had to "act surprised, or else they were in trouble." He and Leslie were really dying to tell someone... so they told a whole floor.

In the recovery ward, Cybil sat on a chair at her husband's bedside, asleep on his stomach, holding his hand. Sidney had taken their son for a few days, and he would be back to visit tomorrow. Greg was stubborn and had told the head nurse to keep coming in and updating him on the status of the surgeries, patients, and other such things, and was surprised when she never did. He got upset about it frequently, and each time another nurse came in to check on him, he would repeat the same order. Little did he know, Cybil dismissed that order and threatened them all after Greg fell asleep, making sure he got rest - not stress. Hope Hospital had plenty of people on staff (now that they weren't needed so badly anymore) - he could worry about work when he was actually supposed to be working.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Much later that night and back upstairs, soft knocking woke Derek from his nap with his fiancée. He didn't want to leave her – she was so warm, and he was so tired, but he knew that if he didn't get up, the knocking would get louder and it would disturb her too. Carefully, he slid out from her grasp, covering her back up with a blanket as he paced towards the door. Opening it, he was greeted with a very nice surprise.

Derek stared directly into the eyes of Greg Kasal, being pushed in a wheelchair by his wife. His eyes lit up, as he welcomed the two of them inside, all the while motioning for them to be quiet. He followed as she wheeled him over to the far back corner of the room, taking a seat in a chair directly by his side. Derek pulled up a stool which was seated at Angie's bedside, and sat on it in front of Greg. He smiled.

"Derek, let me ask you something…" he said, his face completely serious.

"S-Sure, Dr. Kasal…"

His face faded into a sympathetic grin. "How many times are you going to have to save my life?" he said, slightly chuckling.

Derek laughed as well, before turning solemn. "Hopefully, this is the last time. You know, anything I learned to do, I learned from you – so quite literally, you should be thanking yourself right now that I'm not as big of a clumsy oaf as I used to be…" Greg chuckled as Derek continued on. "I wasn't about to let anything happen to you… You were my patient, and I did what I had to do. It's as simple as that."

Greg beamed – Derek had come such a long way. He had finally learned the lesson of removing personal ties with his patients, which in Greg's mind, was the last thing he needed before he could really enjoy being a doctor. The young surgeon who had once trembled while suturing a laceration was now the one who had been responsible for saving his life – twice.

"I owe you more than you'll ever know, Derek. You're a great doctor, a great man, and an unparalleled surgeon…"

He cut off as Cybil leaned over, whispering into his ear. He took in what she was saying, before lifting his head up. Glancing over Derek's shoulder, he gazed at Angie fast asleep – but more importantly, Angie's hand. A giant smile swept his face.

"…and also, I'm sure you'll make a great husband and father."

Derek chuckled, his face turning red with embarrassment.

"But most importantly – " he said, continuing. Derek watched as his face grew stoic once more.

"…Thank you for giving me a chance to see my family again…" he said, shaking Derek's hand tightly. "Anything in the world you want, it's yours. Just ask."

Derek looked over at Cybil, who was tearing up again. He traded warm smiles with Dr. Kasal, before a slightly evil grin trickled over his face.

"… Well, Cybil did mention something about vacation…" He laughed at the joke. Vacation wasn't something that existed to Derek Stiles, or anyone he knew, for that matter.

Greg smiled. "Yeah, good luck with that…"

The three of them giggled gently.

"Congratulations, Derek – I'm sure the two of you will be very happy together" he said, Cybil nodding in agreement.

Derek pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, smiling happily as he turned to look at Angie, staring at her briefly before he turned back to the couple.

"Thank you, Greg… Cybil… And you're absolutely right - This is the happiest I've ever been in my life."

Cybil stood, and Derek followed. She pulled him into another giant hug, and as she let go, rubbed his arm soothingly. He turned toward Dr. Kasal's wheelchair, and held out his hand. The recovering surgeon grabbed it, shocking Derek as he pulled him down and into a hug. A few hard pats on the back, and he released him, ready to leave.

"Tell Angie we said congratulations, and that we will get in touch when both of them have recovered…" Cybil said, her trademark smirk plastered on her face.

"I will, Cybil… thank you."

Derek walked over to the door, pulling it open for the two of them. He silently waved goodbye before closing the door. He would go back to bed with Angie in a minute, but there was just one thing he had to take care of first. Derek removed his cell phone from his pocket and dialed – it rang twice before a voice popped onto the other end.

"Hey, Les – it's Derek. Would you mind coming back up to the hospital again? I need your help with something…"

-----------------------------------------------------------

A small while later, she rapped on the wood door. Derek walked over and let her in.

"Ohh, she's still sleeping!" she said in a hush. "…then, what did you need my help with?"

Derek walked over to where Angie's dream dress was hanging. Turning it over in his hands, he noticed that minus a few stains and very small rips, it really wasn't in that bad of shape. He pulled the hanger off the ledge, and walked it back over to her, motioning her out into the hallway.

"Oh, this isn't so bad…" she said, inspecting it.

"So, it's fixable?"

"Yeah, Derek… of course! I know a woman who specializes in miracle dress surgeries" she said, giggling.

Derek reached into his pocket, removing his wallet and a small note he had written while waiting for her to arrive.

"Here's money for the dress, and… this." Derek explained to her exactly what to do with the two things, and she nodded happily, taking off to prepare one last surprise for her best friend. As he waved her goodbye, he returned into Angie's room. He turned off the lights and crawled back into bed with her, hugging her closely before falling asleep for the rest of the night.

---------------------------------------------------

That next morning, Derek had gotten up to go get himself a change of clothes and go for a run while Angie was sleeping. After kissing her goodbye and leaving, she had woken up soon after. Because she had fallen asleep with her left hand next to her face, the ring was the first thing she noticed upon waking, and a giant smile made its way onto her face. She turned confused as she rolled over – Derek wasn't there, but in his place was a tiny piece of paper that read. "Went to change, promise I'll be back soon – I love you, fiancée :)"

Angie smiled. She pulled herself up gently into a sitting position, and reached for the phone. This was news that had to be spread.

After a small conversation with Leslie and a longer one with her mother, Angie picked up the phone one last time. She was transferred through a few departments and put on hold for what seemed like an eternity, but then a familiar voice picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hi… its me"

"I know its you.. how's my princess?"

She could feel his smile through the phone, smiling herself. "I'm good, Dad… how are you?"

"Oh, I can't complain. Prison is prison, you know?"

Angie chuckled.

"I have some news to tell you…" she started, looking down at the ring.

"Oh? Why didn't you come to see me? I want you to come see me any chance you get…"

"I know, I just, don't get discharged for a few days, that's all…"

"Discharged.. you're, in the hospital? Angie, what's wrong!? Derek said you were fine!"

She paused for a minute. "Derek came to talk to you?"

"I'll tell you about that in a minute, but you need to tell me what happened first!"

Angie began to explain all about the accident, and her hospital stay, and she felt him relax when she told him that she would be out in a few short days.

"I'm just so relieved you're all right, honey – I wish I could be there… I'm sorry.."

"Me too, Dad… apparently Mom is coming back from Germany, so she'll be here soon too… But, what were you saying about Derek?"

"I'll tell you about that in a minute – you had some news for me first, remember?"

Out of some sheer coincidence, Derek walked into the room slowly, smiling at her when he saw her upright. He sat down at the end of the bed, and waited as she finished the conversation with whoever she was talking to.

Angie looked at Derek, exchanging smiles.

"Dad, Derek asked me to marry him yesterday…"

"And…?"

"Well, I wouldn't be calling if I said no!"

Derek chuckled, mirroring the laugh of her father on the line. She shot him a look as if to say, "what is the matter with this guy?", making him laugh harder. He crawled up in bed next to her, and grabbed her hand.

"That's amazing news – I told Derek when he came here that I couldn't have picked a better husband for you if I tried…"

She teared up. "He came there?"

"Yes – he was extremely polite and respectful, told me how much he loved you, and asked my permission and my blessing to marry you… it was a bit of a surprise, but I couldn't be more happy for the two of you… besides, how long has it been?"

She giggled. "Yeah, I know… but, it's worth it"

"Okay – well, as soon as you get discharged, the two of you get up here so I can congratulate you in person. I have to go though – it was nice to hear from you, and you get better soon, ok?

"Okay, Dad – I will."

"And extend my congratulations to Derek as well… he's a great man, Angie.. I'm happy for you."

Angie looked over at him – he felt her gaze and looked upward, smiling as he brushed the hair from her face.

"I know he is… and thank you again. I'll talk to you soon… Okay… Bye."

She passed the phone to Derek who put it back in its cradle.

"What'd he say?" he asked, slightly nervous.

Angie smiled and kissed him. "No, good morning fiancée? Sorry for leaving you this morning?"

He growled. "I wrote a note!... ok, I'm sorry. Good morning my beautiful fiancée – I hope you slept well.."

"I did, actually – it didn't hurt as bad as it did before. Looks like this thing is a wonder healer…" she said, holding up her hand.

Derek laughed and wrapped his arms around her, pausing for a few minutes.

"…so, now can you tell me what he said?"

"Well" she started, turning towards him with a smile. "First of all, my mother freaked out and she's on her way over."

"Haha, uh-oh…" he replied. Angie's mother was very protective of her only daughter, and put Derek through the ringer anytime she made one of her unexpected (long) visits.

"I think she should be better this time – her and my dad were both surprised that it finally happened, but they're both very happy. They both told me you're a great guy, and that they say "congratulations"… But, my dad was very honored that you came to ask his permission, and my mother says that we'll have very cute children…"

Derek turned instantly red, chuckling softly. "Your mother started talking about us having kids from the first minute you told her about me.."

"Yeah," she replied, laughing. "She's always wanted to be a grandma… I don't blame her, I think our kids will be adorable.."

Derek smiled. "I know they will – hopefully, they look more like you!"

She slapped him gently. "No! The best part about having a child is looking at them and seeing both of us in them… Maybe they'll have your surgical ability?"

He laughed. "Maybe they'll have your temper?"

She scowled, before hitting him harder. "Not nice, Derek Stiles." She crossed her arms and pouted.

Derek laughed and hugged her. "So, let's chat about our wedding a bit…"

Angie lit up, instantly forgiving him for making fun of her, as she began to rattle of details. Since it was late summer now, she figured that a five or six months was enough to plan, and they would get married in early spring. May 15th was the date – A Sunday, which, with the exception of the accident, turned out to be the best day of the week of their lives. They kept chatting happily into the late afternoon, ate, watched a movie, and then fell asleep..

----------------------------------------------------

Although Derek had to return to work for two surgeries over the time Angie was in the hospital, Dr. Hoffman had graciously let him have the day she was discharged off so that he could bring her home. Before they let her go, she had wanted to take a shower very badly, so he went home while she cleaned herself up a bit. On his way back, he brought her some fresh clothes, and some junk food to eat – it never failed to cheer her up.

When he walked back into the room, she was seated on the bed in her robe, staring intently at her ring while waiting for her spare change of clothes. Her eyes widened as she looked at him.

"Derek, what are you wearing?"

He was dressed up again.

"What?" he replied, looking down at himself. "Is something wrong?"

"…no," she replied, breaking into a smile. "You just look incredibly handsome, that's all."

Dressed in another black suit, this time, Derek was sporting a navy blue tie. While she smiled at how good he looked, she couldn't help but be reminded that his tie was the exact same color of her anniversary dress that had been taken back home days prior. She pulled him closer to her as she stood up, wrapping her arms around his waist. Looking up at him, she smiled.

"To be quite honest, Derek – I don't think I'll ever be able to stop staring at this ring for the rest of my life. It's beautiful…"

"Well, we will have the rest of our lives for you to ignore me to look at your ring.." He smiled, and kissed her. "Just kidding, Angie… I'm glad you love it – I guess I just have amazing taste in rings… and women…"

She giggled, taking the bag of clothes off into the bathroom to change., and squealing when she found a giant bag of candy waiting for her.

When she emerged, it was finally time to go. The nurse had arrived with a wheelchair, and Angie sat down in it, letting Derek wheel her out to where his car was waiting.

As he drove home, he watched without saying a word as every five seconds or so, she would slyly look down at her left hand, her right hand shoving junk food into both of their mouths. He put a hand over his mouth to stop from smiling, not wanting her to know that he knew what was going on. He reached over, and grabbed the hand, slipping his underneath it so she could continue to look at the rock. She smiled happily and squeezed his hand, as they pulled into her parking lot.

Derek gently helped his fiancée out of the car, being careful to avoid touching any of her cuts or bruises. She grabbed her bag of stuff as they started to walk inside, boarding the elevator. Right before she turned the key in the lock, he remembered what he had done to her apartment, and tensed up for a second. He knew he would have to explain himself and clean up all the flowers, but even he was surprised at what they saw next.

The rose petal trail still wound through her apartment, but all of the little tea light candles were ablaze, their tiny flames basting the room in a warm yellow glow.

"Leslie…" he thought quietly to himself.

He watched from behind as Angie's ringed hand flew up to her mouth, covering it gently as she teared up. He wrapped his hands gently around her waist, and kissed her cheek, pulling his mouth back to whisper in her ear.

"…follow the trail" he said, almost inaudibly.

She shivered, absolutely unable to believe that he had more surprises in store for her after asking her to marry him. Angie set down her bag at the front door, and took his hand as they walked toward the bedroom. When she pulled the double doors open, she started to cry once more as she saw a vaseful of pink roses on her nightstand, and her glittering blue anniversary dress sprawled out on the bed, with a note attached. She turned and glared at him in surprise once more, eyes shimmering.

"Go, read it…" he said, sliding his hands into his pockets.

She paced forward slowly, uncertain of what she would find. Angie wiped her eyes as she looked at her dress – it had been fixed and cleaned _completely_, erasing any signs of the accident. She extended her shaking arm toward it, lifting a crisp white note off and reading its message.

"Happy Anniversary my gorgeous fiancée – its finally time to celebrate… slip this on and let's go… princess. :) Love, Derek."

She turned around and ran toward him, still crying gently. As she threw her arms around him, he scooped her up and off the ground, pressing his lips against hers.

"Thank you.. thank you, so much, Derek.. I couldn't have imagined all of this more perfectly if I tried.."

He grinned and kissed her again.

"Don't thank me – I just wanted you to remember this for the rest of your life."

She tilted her head to the side slightly, smiling.

"Now go get dressed… we have dinner reservations in a half hour."

"Dinner? Why did you let me eat all this junk food!" she said, laughing at herself.

"You didn't eat that much – just get dressed, and don't worry…"

He set her down on the ground as she beamed, closing the doors to her room to change.

Derek paced back over into the kitchen, stumbling upon a sticky note, and an envelope with a note on it. He picked up the sticky note first, reading it quietly out loud.

"Dear Derek and Ang – We thought you could use a relaxing romantic setting before your big night – Happy Anniversary and Congratulations! Love, L & T."

He smiled before continuing to read the bottom, where he began to laugh like crazy.

"PS: Make sure you pay attention next time you see Tyler – he was fooling around with the matches and burned off his eyebrows!! PPS: This envelope was a gift that we were asked to leave for you.. Enjoy!"

He set the note down, turning his attention to the envelope. Picking it up, he read the note on the outside.

"We know we can never repay you for what you did for us – but, we figured this might be a much-needed start. Happy Anniversary and Congratulations, you two! Love, Greg and Cybil"

Before he could open the envelope, the doors to Angie's room opened, her hands resting on each doorknob on the double doors. The dress hugged her body from the top to the bottom, sparkling like crazy in the candlelight, its fabric flowing loosely to the ground. She wore a silver drop necklace, dangled earrings, and had pulled her hair back into a loose wispy ponytail. Derek silently took a small breath in, unable to move – he had never seen her look so beautiful before.

She smiled, and walked toward him as that goofy grin he had been unable to suppress since she told him 'yes' resurfaced. He didn't really believe in fairy tales, but if she wasn't a princess, he didn't know who in the world would be. Derek smiled as she held up her hand, flashing her ring to him.

"It's the perfect addition, don't you think?" she said, giggling.

"I completely agree. You look absolutely gorgeous, Ang…" He took her in his arms again, kissing her softly several times before pulling away, watching as her eyes glanced at the table.

"Hey, what's that?" she said, motioning toward the envelope.

"I don't know, it just says this on the front.." he held both notes out to her as he removed the contents of the envelope.

"You've got to be kidding…" he said, in disbelief, interrupted by her laughing at the section about Tyler with no eyebrows.

She turned serious, looking over at him. "What is it, Derek?"

"It's a note of congratulations from Dr. Hoffman and the Caduceus staff."

"Oh, that's really sweet… but, why were you so shocked?"

Derek cleared his throat before reading off the message at the bottom.

"I write you this note not only out of happiness for your recent engagement, but also to inform you that from the 12th to the 22nd of next month, you nor Angie will be on duty at Caduceus… Thanks for your hard work and Congratulations again: Robert Hoffman and the staff of Caduceus USA."

"We're not going to be on duty?" Angie asked, confused… "Why?"

Derek knew why, and he couldn't believe that they had done this… He reached his hand back into the envelope, smiling as he pulled out two first class round-trip plane tickets.

"We're going to _Hawaii_…" he said, holding the tickets up for her to see with a giant smile on his face.

She shrieked as she pulled the note and the tickets out of his hand. They both laughed like crazy – they had needed a vacation more than ever, and were finally going.. hopefully without having to save someone's life. Angie kissed him happily.

"I'm not sure what I'm going to do – this day just keeps getting better and better…"

"Well, let's get going – we still need to celebrate our anniversary, remember?"

Derek kissed her again. He had a gorgeous and amazing fiancée, a wonderful mother and soon-to-be in-laws, a best friend who although he wanted to kill days prior, really came through for him, a great boss, great coworkers, and irreplaceable friends. Life was perfect.

Setting down the tickets and the letters, Angie and Derek walked around the room, blowing out each and every one of the candles. He held out his hand to her as he opened the door. The light from the hallway trickled into her dark apartment, illuminating both the dress and engagement ring that his wife-to-be was wearing. She placed her ringed hand into his, allowing him to whisk her out the door, and off to celebrate not only their anniversary…

…But the beginning of the rest of their lives together.

* * *

::Tear:: I don't want this story to be done!!

Again - thanks to all who have been so supportive - its nervewracking doing one of these for the first time, wondering who's going to hate it and who's going to like it, and what weird twists are going to happen. I thought it would be interesting to tell you all, that this was regularly scheduled to have like, MAYBE, 6 chapters, no operations, and no 'accident scenes'. I'm glad things worked out this way instead - its been fun.

For anyone who likes cute mushy Derek/Angie fics - any suggestions as to what I could write about next? Anything you'd like to see, just PM me or leave it in a review, and I'll take it into consideration... I'm looking for something cute to write again, and hopefully soon!

Anyway, for the last time - please review, and tell me how this stacks up against Atlus's, and what you thought in general...

Special thanks to everyone who reviewed...I know everyone that reads doesn't write, but try it - its fun!

Hopefully see you all again soon!

-TCGeek


	11. Bonus: Hawaiian Vacation

HELLO AGAIN! This chapter is very random, but cute, I think. I hope you agree.

This is me returning to this story once and for all as I post the bonus chapter to Keeping the Secret with a very large disclaimer..

**It gets a little, uh... racy, towards the end. Nothing too graphic which would require me to up it to "M" (at least I don't think - its just a little, involved, is all)** **If you disagree and think I should change the rating you can let me know, but you all have been warned!**

**Oh, and please bear with me here - it reads fast, but it is 6000 words :) YOU KNOW YOU'RE EXCITED!!!!!!! WOOOOO!!!**

* * *

Angie was leaning over in Derek's lap, looking out the window of the plane as it lowered to touch down on the island of Maui. She smiled as the beaches and palm trees came into view, secretly wishing Derek was awake to see it too. 

As she pulled herself back into her seat, she couldn't help but give a sympathetic giggle at her new fiancée. He was fast asleep with his head resting against the interior of the plane, his forehead furrowed, clutching his water bottle in his right hand. Even though he had taken three Dramamine before they departed from Angeles Bay, the pills had been no match for Derek's motion-sickness – or his insane hatred for flying.

Angie grabbed his hand lightly, and rubbed it, before leaning over to kiss his forehead. He stirred for a second, and then groggily opened his eyes.

"Morning, sunshine…" she said, a big smile on her face. "Look…"

Derek turned his head in the direction she pointed, growing excited as he saw their gorgeous vacation destination. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her back over him so she could see too, before groaning unhappily – he was going to have to lay down for a bit when they landed. As the wheels touched down with a loud 'bump', Derek breathed a sigh of relief – he couldn't wait to get off the plane. A short taxi later, the plane had been docked and they were ready to go. Angie gathered her giant carry-on bag and he grabbed his bottles of water, and they exited the plane.

Baggage check went pretty smoothly – for such an amazing place, very few people seemed like they were traveling here at the current time… and when he looked at his plane ticket he remembered why.

"I can't believe that Cybil and Greg blew six grand on these tickets…" Derek said, still feeling a tad guilty for accepting them.

"I know…" Angie replied, pulling up the handle on her bag and beginning to walk. "But, you deserve it after what you did for them – twice… I mean, why do you think that after we got together, I sent Naomi that really expensive necklace?"

Derek smiled. "Ah, I guess you're right – this is, what, our second vacation together? And the first one was to Washington, DC, and I almost got robbed…"

She giggled – he hadn't almost gotten robbed, he had just been approached by a homeless man, but it sent him into a panic state.

It was about an hour from the time they landed from the time they were finally ready to leave the airport. They stopped to get something quick to eat, allowing Derek's stomach to settle down a bit. Grabbing all their belongings, they walked toward the exit hand in hand.

"So, what would you like to do first?" he asked, looking over at her.

"Lay on the beach. That's the only thing I want to do after being on a plane that long… just, lay on the beach…"

Derek smiled as he opened the door for her. "Beach it i--- whoa…"

From the time they had landed to the time they walked out that door, the sky had turned black, dumping buckets of rain onto the island. Angie sighed as she ran towards their waiting rental car, Derek not far behind her. It was getting late anyway – all she really wanted to do was sleep.

--------------------------------------------

The next morning, they awoke to the sunshine trickling into their massive beach suite, cuddled in each other's arms. Angie kissed him good morning, before stretching and rolling herself out of bed. Leaving him still half asleep, she walked over to the double doors just off their bedroom, and opened them, stepping out onto the balcony. A slight gasp escaped her lips as she looked over the island. They were right on the beach – the teal water splashing up against the near-white sand. In the distance, she could see lots of trees scattered around the bottom of a mountain chain. It was absolutely perfect. As she stared off at the landscape, a pair of hands slowly wrapped around her waist, a chin rested on her shoulder.

"Wow…" he said softly, taking it in. "I can't believe we're… on VACATION!"

His whisper turned to a yelp which, coincidentally, echoed right into her ear. She reached up and grabbed it, wincing, before he spun her around and lifted her in the air. He kissed her a bunch of times, as she started to giggle like crazy. Setting her down gently, he grabbed her hand and pulled her inside, sitting her down on the bed. A knock was heard at the door a few seconds later – Derek had ordered breakfast through the resort's room service. They relaxed as they ate breakfast in bed, before he got excited again and jumped up, rushing to get ready for the day.

-----------------------------------------

"You know, our vacation is ten days – we don't have to rush…" she said, being dragged to the beach.

They both stopped, taking in the sprawling coastline and the amazing backdrop. Derek smiled as he laid his and her towels out on the sand, before taking her hand once more.

"Come on, we're going swimming!" he grinned, pulling her towards the water.

"No, no, no… not yet, Derek. I want to relax in the sun for a little bit."

"Oh, come onnnnnnn! Its vacation, have a little fun!"

She crossed her arms. "I don't know… I really don't feel like getting wet yet…"

"Okay, okay…" he said, walking behind her. She let out a small content sigh as he placed his hands on her hips, and rested his head on her shoulder once more. Derek smiled evilly as he crouched down to his knees, popping his head up between her legs and standing back up straight. Before she knew what hit her, she was on his shoulders, bobbing as he walked towards the water. He took off his glasses quickly, and tossed them onto his towel.

"Derek Stiles – I swear if I go in that water you are SLEEPING ON THE COUCH!"

Passer-bys snickered as they watched Derek stop and think for a moment – before running at full force into the water.

"Derek!! DON'T do it…" she warned.

He didn't listen "Oh, Ang, feel the water, its amazing." He was now up to his waist, his blue swim trunks completely submerged in the gorgeous still water.

She complied, reaching over to stick her hand in. It really was amazing – it wasn't cold at all, but wasn't like bath water. It was, plain, refreshing. Still, she didn't want to go in – but sadly, didn't have a choice.

Derek moved his hands up her legs and positioned his hands under her butt, preparing himself for the imminent launch.

"One…" he said slowly, laughing

"Derek, I swear…"

"Two… you better plug your nose!"

"You will get it so bad when I get out of the watERRR!"

Derek had reached three before she finished talking. A loud screech rang through the warm Hawaiian air as he launched her up into the air, laughing hysterically as he watched her plummet feet first into the ocean. A few seconds later, she came up to the surface and swam towards him until she found a place she could touch. The tiny jewels on her hot pink bikini shone as fiercely as her engagement ring as she walked towards him, soaking wet, the look of death upon her face. He got nervous, holding out both of his hands as he backed away from her, apologizing profusely. Before he knew what was happening, she had already ran around behind him. He whirled around quickly, his back to the ocean as she charged forward, pushing him back until he lost his footing and fell backwards, going under. She laughed as he arose out of the water, a smile on his face. Derek stuck his hand in the water and propelled it towards her, sending a sheet of water to splash her from head to toe. Angie laughed as she splashed him back, before she sank down into the water, swimming towards him. In water up to her chin but only to his armpits, she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek.

"You're right – it feels great…" she said, a smile on her face.

"I told you that you'd like it…" he replied, watching as her expression turned to evil.

He paused.

"You're still out for revenge aren't you?"

"Oh yeah. I told you that you were going to get it, and I mean that…"

He sighed. "Well, as long as you're already mad…"

Still using him as a support, he buckled his knees and sank underwater. Her shriek turned into a gurgle as he slipped below the surface, pulling her along with him.

--------------------------------------------

In the next three days they had seen whales in the ocean, surfed the waves, went parasailing and jet-skiing, laid on the beach, had the most exquisitely amazing meals of their lives, and enjoyed every moment they spent together – though most of it, Derek was paranoid to see how she was going to get him back. His answer to that came three days after their first beach visit, to which they had returned that day.

Derek laid on his towel in the soft, powdery sand, letting the rays of sun bask over his now deeply bronzed skin. Laying on his stomach with his head facing her, he opened his eyes, noticing how her normally pale skin was now as deep a brown as his. Derek smiled as he closed his eyes once more, before sitting himself up. It was hot outside, and while he was enjoying laying in the sun, he needed a cool down.

"I'm going to go jump in the water – wanna come with me?" he said, knowing what her answer was going to be.

"Hmm?" she said, confused. "Oh, sweetie that's okay – I'm really comfortable right now…"

"Okay…" he replied. "Be back in a minute…"

She watched as he stood up, his hard, flat, chest glistening with the small bit of sweat he had acquired while laying in the sun. They exchanged smiles as he removed his glasses, ran one of his muscled arms through his hair, and turned around. Angie couldn't help but smile at how attractive he was as her eyes followed him to the shore, before he disappeared – diving head first into a giant wave. She relaxed again, closing her eyes before something prickled at her leg. Sitting up, she shrieked a bit. It was a fiddler crab, and he was really funny looking. She began to laugh as she remembered something Derek had told her once when she ordered crab legs at dinner…

"_Seriously, I won't even eat crab legs unless all the meat is pulled out for me before I get them… the claws… they just, freak me out!"_

A sinister laugh protruded from Angie's mouth, as she covered the crab up with part of her towel. Derek returned soaking wet from the ocean, and kissed her on the forehead before laying down again, this time, his head turned away from her.

"Man, it really doesn't get any better than this, does it?" he asked, chuckling softly.

"I know – this has been the best time of my life.." she replied, sitting up. Gently, she reached underneath the blanket and grabbed the little crab, his legs kicking furiously in the air. She leaned over carefully and placed him on Derek's stomach, watching as he went nuts – happy to be free. He started to laugh like crazy.

"Angie, stop! That tickles… Seriously, that tickles so bad, stop… STOP!".

He kicked around for a few seconds before trying to remove her hand from his stomach. When he reached for it and got nothing but air, his eyes shot open as he realized what, in fact, was tickling him.

"GAAHHH!" he yelped, jumping to his feet. The tiny crab flew off of him and into the sand, turning itself over before starting to run towards him.

"ANGIE!" he yelled, running away from the crab. For such a little guy, man was he fast. His legs flailed as he ran towards Derek, until the doctor had no choice but to run into the water. The crab ran a few feet in after him, but seemingly changed its mind before it turned and walked out, its beady eyes staring at him from the shore. Derek glared at Angie, who was practically dying of laughter on her towel before she noticed his stare. He purposely walked a great way over to the left to avoid the crab, who, was no longer paying attention to him, before storming out of the water and towards her. His face was hardened and she began to get nervous, knowing that she was most likely going to end up in the water this time. Dripping wet, he walked towards her, and knelt down in front of where she sat. He grabbed onto her sides and threw her over his shoulder, before charging back toward the water.

"Derek, I'm sorry! No!!! I PROMISE I'll never do it again!"

"Okay, I forgive you…" he said seriously, before he laughed, flipping her off his shoulder and into the water once more.

-----------------------------------------------

Later that night they lied together in their hammock on the beach front, Angie's head on her doctor's chest, hugging around his waist. Derek had one of his hands behind his head and the other around her shoulders as they watched the sun set over the horizon, casting a yellow sparkling gleam over the still teal waters. Angie sighed contently before closing her eyes, resting happily with the love of her life.

The sun was long down before words were spoken, both of them incredibly content just relaxing and enjoying the time off that they usually never had. It was Angie who broke the silence. She picked her head up off his chest and moved it backward slightly, resting on his bicep and looking into his eyes, which were fixed on the water. Slowly, he turned to look at her, a soft smile on his lips, before those lips moved forward and kissed hers. She sighed as he pulled away.

"I know this is random…" she started, "..but I want to ask you something."

"Anything, Ang – shoot."

"If you and I were to stay together forever, which, I'm positive we will… and you could have one wish for the future about our lives together, what would it be?"

He paused for a minute. "Well, obviously that we would be happy and healthy, and our kids the same…"

"No, no, no… something deeper than that."

Derek stopped for a minute before she saw his eyes flashed with sadness.

"I guess.." he said, slightly choked up. "I guess I would have to wish that you wouldn't be taken from me as early as my dad was from my mother…"

Angie grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly.

"I mean – I didn't understand what it was like for her when I was younger… but now that I have you, now that I'm head over heels in love with you – I realize that I could never see myself being able to keep going if something were to happen to you…"

She kissed him and pulled him into her, hugging him as she rubbed his back.

"How about you?" he said, eyes returning to the ocean. "What's your wish..?"

Angie half-smiled. "Its weird – your wish and my wish are one in the same. My father is still here, but for awhile there, I thought I'd never see him again – and once I fell in love with you and actually thought about it, I understand how incredibly heartbreaking it must've been for my mom…"

Derek nodded, taking her hands.

"Promise me you'll never leave me?" she said, her lower lip slightly trembling.

He pulled her into a big hug, kissing the top of her head.

"I promise. I could never leave you – I'd be leaving my world behind…"

She sniffled as he reached down, pulling her chin up to look at him. He planted three small kisses on her lips and one on her forehead as they cuddled back up together.

The hammock swayed gently back and forth in the warm breeze, as they held each other, drifting off to sleep.

-----------------------------------------------------------

It was supposed to be another relaxing day, but Derek and Angie's second to last night in Maui took a turn for the interesting before they even realized it. It started off by taking a walk down the shoreline at dusk, holding hands and chatting. They had wrapped around the beach before Derek noticed something bright out of the corner of his eye, catching his attention.

"Look!" he exclaimed, pointing over to his left and up the shore. A man was twirling fire to a drum beat. Derek pulled Angie toward the celebration, both of them amazed at the show being put on.

Hawaiian natives were everywhere – breathing, juggling and twirling fire, playing drums and other instruments… it was really neat. As they stood by and watched, a young woman came up in front of them and placed leis around their necks, before inviting them to sit down at a nearby table.

A woman came to their table and introduced herself as Mia – their waitress.

"Waitress?" Derek asked, and she nodded. "This is an outdoor tiki bar, but we serve dinner now…"

Angie was surprised as he was.

"Can I get you two something to drink?"

"Um, I'll take a gin and tonic…" Derek said.

"And for you, miss?"

"A cosmopolitan, please…"

After enjoying their drinks and their dinner of pig from a roast that had happened that night, Derek and Angie sat back in their chairs. They chatted with the natives, the vacationers like themselves, the honeymooners (this was when Angie suggested they come back for theirs), and the staff of the restaurant. The next time she came around, Derek asked Mia for the bill, slightly cutting off as he noticed a bottle in her hand.

"What is that?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Oh – this is some of our famous Coconut Rum, made right here on the island. You absolutely must try some.. that is, if you wish.."

Derek and Angie looked at each other as Mia pulled the stopper from the bottle. He hated rum, but decided to give it a shot, Angie following suit. She pulled two small shot glasses from her left hand and set them down in front of the couple, pouring them to the very brink.

"Can I get a drumroll, please?" Mia yelled to the band, her wish immediately granted.

Angie held out her glass to Derek, and he touched it to hers, toasting one another before they slammed the rum without flinching. They both turned their glasses over and smacked them down on the table triumphantly, before high fiving one another and laughing.

Suddenly, one shot turned into two, and two into six. Derek was always surprisingly good at holding his liquor, but much to his hilarious surprise, he remembered that Angie was not – not even a little bit.

They had walked so far while they were sober, not giving it a second thought. But as Derek tried to walk Angie back to their suite, he cut his losses and hailed a cab instead.

The two of them fell into the door of their room, laughing hysterically. Angie was laughing for an unknown reason, and Derek was laughing because he really honestly had no idea why she was laughing… He walked her over to the bed, him slightly tipsy, her belligerently drunk, as he removed her arm from around his neck and plopped her down onto the bed. She sat there, slightly swaying, as he walked over to the dresser and took off the lei and the shirt he was wearing, exposing his rippling abs once again. He pulled another shirt and pair of shorts out of his bag, before sliding his jeans off as well. Angie watched as he stood there in nothing but his boxer shorts, before she drunkenly decided to act on thoughts racing through her head.

Rising shakily to her feet, she wobbled towards Derek, before falling forward. He dropped his shirt and his shorts, and caught her right before she hit the ground.

"Ang --" he said, laughing. "I think its best if you sit down right now…"

"I t-thinkits b-bestifyoujust, leave them clothes off… _Doctor Stiles_…" she said, drunkenly seductive, her words fusing together into one long one.

She walked her fingers up his chest before 'booping' him on the tip of his nose. He watched her with a goofy grin on his face, finding every single thing she did completely hilarious. Derek never saw Angie drunk – some part of him wished he had a video camera.

"So, why am I leaving my clothes off?" he asked playfully, hands on his hips as she rose to stand under her own power.

"Ohhhh… _I almooossstFORGOT!_" she said in a whisper, before pulling off her own shirt and shorts, standing before him in a matching lilac bra and panties.

His mouth fell open as she wrapped a hand around his neck, pulling him towards the bed. She dropped her back onto the mattress, pulling him down on top of her, his torso resting between her legs. Angie kissed him with incredible heat, her tongue swirling in his mouth. He was surprised at first, but went along with it – after all, this was pretty awesome in his opinion – she never pounced on him like this.

She rolled over and on top of him in one swift movement and straddled him, before leaning forward to kiss his neck. He moaned softly as she made her way up to his ear, nibbling softly on the lobe, before she pulled back and whispered, "You're so f---ing hot…I can't even stand it". She cursed like a sailor when she was drunk, but it sent tingles through his whole body. Her hands were now running up and down his chest before she began to kiss that as well. Derek slid his hands from her hips to her back, moving up slowly before they rested on the clasp to her bra. She giggled softly, sucking on his ear once more, as it was opened and removed from her body. Angie sat up completely straight, allowing Derek to take a quick peek before she returned to begin kissing his chest again. She stopped just above his belly button, freezing in mid-action. Five seconds later, and she still hadn't moved… and Derek was growing a tad impatient – this was just getting good. He shook her a few times gently to try to rouse her, but he quickly realized what had happened as her head dropped to the side, her breathing heavy – she had passed out.

Derek laughed for a few seconds, still slightly disappointed that it had stopped just then – but he couldn't help but forgive her… she was damn adorable when intoxicated.

He rolled her off of him and onto her back, giving her perfectly tanned, toned body a sad once-over as he walked over to the floor where she had made him drop his white t-shirt. He picked it up and walked over towards the bed, pulling her up and into his arms as he pulled it over her head, and poked her arms through the arm holes. Laying her down gently onto her pillow, he covered her with a thin sheet up to her waist, before lying next to her, completely exhausted.

The last thing Derek saw before he fell asleep that night was the love of his life, drunk, fast asleep in his oversized T-shirt, the hand that sported the engagement ring he had given her resting on her chest as it moved up and down slowly. He was pretty sure the smile didn't fade from his face the entire time he slept that night.

-------------------------------------------------------

Lying in bed with Derek after a long afternoon at the beach, swimming and playing Frisbee, Angie was exhausted. It was their last afternoon in Hawaii, and she didn't want to go home, not even a little bit. It took most of the day for her giant hangover to subside, but it eventually did – leaving her very tired. She was almost sleeping when she felt Derek move away from her, instantly being able to tell that he was watching her sleep. He leaned in and gently whispered her name, before kissing her on the cheek. Angie rolled over with a small sigh, before opening her eyes to see his face directly above hers, smiling.

"Hmm – hi.." she whispered sleepily, before puckering her lips to make him kiss her.

He chuckled but complied, before he pulled back. "I'm going to let you take a nap for a little while – I've been dying to go for a run for awhile now… I'll be back in like, a half hour to an hour, depending on how fast I poop out.."

She giggled and kissed him goodbye, before rolling back over onto her stomach, losing herself in sleepy thought.

--------------------------------------------------------

_Upon her return to the world of sobriety that morning, she was surprised to find herself in nothing but a pair of panties, and Derek's white T-shirt, concluding that he must've dressed her last night. As he passed her a cup of coffee he had ready for her, she asked him what happened, laughing hysterically when he told her._

"_I just, passed out… on your chest?" she chortled, as he nodded, laughing as well. "I'm so sorry – I don't even remember that!" "Yeah, well I was kinda bummed – I like when you pounce me…" he replied, a small chuckle resounding into the air._

Angie opened her eyes, smiling. If he could plan a bunch of surprises for her, she could do the same… right?

She rose from the bed, rummaging around in her dresser before she found what she was looking for. An hour gave her more than enough time to put this together… she took the mystery item and her curling iron into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

iPod around his arm, Derek ran back towards his beach suite, surprisingly full of energy. He slowed his sprint to a jog, eventually to a fast walk, and then stopped to stretch his legs. He removed the headphones from his ears, rolling them up and placing them into the case, before he removed it from his arm. Derek pulled his key to their suite from his pocket and turned it in the lock, his mouth dropping to the floor as he looked inside.

The night sky had darkened the room, but a few strategically placed candles around the room basked it in warm glow. Angie was seated on the edge of the bed, legs dangling over the side, a black lace nightgown clung to her form. As she rose onto her knees, he could see that not only did it cut down _dangerously_ low, the fabric stopped just below her butt, leaving not a whole lot to his imagination. Once again, curled blonde hair billowed around her face, a mile plastered on her lips. Derek walked in slowly, closing and locking the door behind him.

"You, look… absolutely, gorgeous… holy…crap, Angie" he stammered out, causing her to giggle. He walked over and stood at the end of the bed. Still on her knees on the edge, she rested her form on his, kissing him passionately.

"You're not the only one who's got surprises up their sleeve…" she whispered, kissing him again.

Derek usually hated surprises, but he could deal with something like this, no problem.

"What's gotten into you?" he asked, brushing his fingers through her curled hair. "When I left, I thought I wasn't going to see you awake until tomorrow morning!"

"Surprise number one!" she said, her laugh turning nervous. He instantly noticed, as the smile faded from his face.

"Is, everything okay, Ang?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I just feel bad about what happened yesterday…"

"Oh, sweetie – you never have to feel bad about that… we were drunk, who cares?"

"I care, because there's something I've been meaning to tell you since we've been on vacation…"

Slightly trembling, she grabbed onto his shoulders and looked straight into his dark brown eyes, before she whispered something that caught him completely off guard.

"I'm… ready, Derek…"

"Ready? Ready for what?"

She widened her eyes a little bit and raised her eyebrows, a small smile on her lips.

"Ready fo--… oh… OH!" he said, shocked. "Angie – wait… are… are you sure?"

She nodded, blonde curls bouncing up and down. He smiled before turning serious once more, as he lifted her into his arms, her legs wrapped around his back. Gently, he knelt up onto the bed and laid her down, before resting himself gently on top of her body and kissing her. Derek brushed his hands through her hair, before sliding them down and holding onto her face – her beautiful, soft face. They kissed slowly but passionately for a small while, before Derek rose to his knees. Extending his hand to her, he pulled her into a sitting position as well, before he began to speak, his hands still holding hers.

"Angie – you know, this is something I've been looking forward to for a long time… I love you so much, and am really excited to be able to share this with the woman I'm going to spend the rest of my life with.."

She nodded silently.

"But… just because we're on vacation, doesn't mean we have to do this… you know even if we don't, I had the best ten days of my life with you here, right?"

She nodded again.

"I'd like to think I know you well enough to know that when we get back home and you have more time to rationally think about this, you'll feel differently…"

"Its not like I'm going to regret it, Derek – its you… its, us." she replied slowly.

"I know that…" he said smiling. "But now that things are more official, its only a few more months till our wedding – and even if you really want to do this now, I have to at least remind you of how important it was to both of us that we share this on our _wedding night_… if after that, you still decide that's what you want, then fine. But, please – so you don't feel bad later, think about it?"

Angie hated that Derek knew her better than she knew herself, though she realized at that moment, that he really couldn't be more perfect for her if he tried. She leaned in and kissed him before collapsing into his arms.

"I'm sorry --" she muffled "…but you're right. I know this must be frustrating for you, all this waiting… but thank you so much for respecting it.."

He lifted her chin to look at him, smiling. "I'll never get frustrated with you for something I think is so amazing – and I hope you know by now, that I'll wait even past our wedding night if you're not ready." Derek kissed her.

She giggled. "Oh, that won't be necessary…But…Thank you, so… much, Derek.." she said.

He watched as she stood up, stepping off the bed, a playful smile on her lips.

"Well…" she started. "If we're not going to do that, then maybe you should get washed up from your run…"

He laughed in agreement, walking towards the bathroom. As he turned on the water, he jumped back as he turned back around to see her leaning against the counter.

"Gah! Angie – what are you doing in here?"

She moved past him and pulled the stopper on the tub. He watched her confused.

"I don't want to take a bath…" he started. "I just want to get in and out, so we can go enjoy our last night together.

She smiled as she poured in bubbles, before turning around and exiting the room. When she returned, she sat a tray of candles on the counter, and turned off the lights in the bathroom.

"Did you hear me?" he asked "I'd rather spend time with you than relax in a bubble bath, alone…"

"Who said you were going to be alone?" she asked mischievously.

He stopped. He had always wanted to, but they had never taken a bath together – well, he had bathed her once, but only because she had been so sick with the flu that week that she didn't have enough strength to do it herself. Not exactly the most romantic moment in the world…

Derek grinned from ear to ear, before asking her to wait. He ran out into the bedroom and dialed room service. Right as the tub had finished filling up, a knock was heard at the door, and Derek pulled in a tray with a bottle of champagne, two glasses, and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. He walked into the bathroom with the tray, as she smiled, impressed. They both undressed, stepping into the giant claw-foot tub, before Derek poured two glasses of champagne, and they toasted their last night of vacation together, before relaxing in each other's arms.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Angie awoke at 6:20 the next morning, the sun still sleeping along with Derek. Gently she woke him, handing him his robe and slipping on her own as she pulled him outside wordlessly. They laid down together in the hammock as the comforting morning breeze rocked it back and forth, relaxing the couple that was curled up in each other's grasps. Angie smiled and kissed him twice before turning her attention back over the water, where the sun was rising over the gorgeous sandy shore. Derek took in a breath and released it contently, kissing Angie on the top of her head. Looking down at his chest, he noticed that she had fallen back asleep, breathing softly, one hand around the back of him, and the other rested on his stomach. He looked at the ring he had given her the month prior and smiled, before cozy-ing up to her and closing his eyes himself. His future wife in his grasps, he too fell asleep once more, letting the last hours of their vacation tick away in a hammock, on the beautiful beaches of Maui. Life couldn't get much better than this.

------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Derek and Angie returned to work at Caduceus, so tan, barely anyone recognized them. They shared the pictures of their vacation (including the ones Angie had taken of Derek running from the fiddler crab, much to his dismay) to their coworkers. Once the excitement died down a bit, they sat together in their office, before Angie picked up the phone, dialing out.

"Who are you calling?" he asked, chuckling at the crab pictures.

"Cybil! Hi, its Angie…. oh, it was absolutely _fantastic…_so much fun… yeah, no, that's why I was calling. First, to thank you again for the awesome trip, second, to see how Greg's doing, and third, to invite the two of you over for dinner tomorrow night…. oh, that's so good to hear…. haha, I'm glad he's back to his old self… Okay, we'll see you both tomorrow… bye!"

She put the phone back in its cradle before turning around to smile at Derek. Angie walked over to his desk and sat in his lap, planting a kiss on his cheek before she rose to her feet once more, extending her hand towards him.

"Come on, Dr. Stiles – its time for rounds…"

* * *

Aww. Yay. This made me really want to go to Hawaii -- damn my insane fear of flying over large bodies of water! (I'd do it for Hawaii) 

Here's a big thanks again to everyone who read and reviewed the story - you all made this a lot of fun, and I hope you liked it.

I'm going to finish Something Precious, and then post the first chapter to my new Derek and Angie mush story (I know, I know -- I think you'll all like it though...) After that, my next story will be up, a crack at me doing the Drama/Action genre... ooh, whatever will happen??

I hope you come back to find out... adios!

-TCGeek


End file.
